Enemies or Lovebirds
by ElectrifyingChemistry
Summary: Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez hate each other. Down to the gut. Why? Because of a very nasty break-up in the middle of Soph Year. Senior Year, the positions seem clear. He's their Golden Boy, she's their beloved queen. So why are the lines blurring?
1. Summer's ending

**Sooo, as you can see: Enemies or Lovebirds is up again! For all of you who are surprised: No, I haven't stolen the story from 'oxlovelyxo', because I am her. Or rather, she's my older self. Get what I mean?**

**I've decided to upload this again, mostly to make up for the lack of updating on FBH. I apologize deeply and give you this and this I'll update on time always, because it's already written. Now I don't care if you've read this before or not, reviews always are appreciated. I'd love to get the amount of reviews back that I received last time with this story. **

**The whole summary (just so you know what you're getting into): Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez hate each other. Down to the gut. Why? Because of a very nasty break-up in the middle of junior year. Now it's senior year. Troy's still captain of the basketball team and Gabriella's the lead of the new founded dance squad. While more or minder successfully trying to avoid each other, they have to put up with a lot of problems. Gabriella can't stand Amber, captain of the cheerleading squad and Troy's latest girlfriend, and vice versa. After getting into a huge fight with her, Gabriella finds herself in a though battle between dancing and cheerleading. The prize of winning: Troy Bolton.**

**I've made a few changes with this, but it's mostly about the dancing scenes (those of you who haven't read this yet, you'll see), so nothing all too different here. Thanks for reading this and reviewing afterwards! Don't be surprised about the disclaimer; I decided to do it right this time :)**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

**Important: The plot's mine, however!!!**

Chapter 1 – Summer's ending

Summer was ending. For each and every teenager between the age of ten to eighteen this fact alone would already be a reason to fall into depression. Very deep depression. Not just because they'd have to go to school – or hell, as most of them declared – again, no, they'd have to put up with useless homework, teachers, who annoyed the hell out of them, their free time melting until nothing was left of it, getting along with people they normally wouldn't even acknowledge and in some cases they even had to put up with bullying. Anyways, for every teenager, who wasn't really dump, the start of school after summer vacation never was a reason to party.

Unless you were called Sharpay Evans and known as the party queen nobody in New Mexico could keep up with if it came to throwing a party. Always searching for a reason to finally party again she had gladly snatched this opportunity at the end of summer and had done everything she possibly could to make her summer ending party to a party everybody would be talking about, even it was over a long time ago. She wouldn't be disappointed; one would speak about it even three weeks after, but not because it had been so amazing.

It wasn't gonna be a flop, in fact it was far away from becoming a flop, but something wouldn't go quite as it had been planned.

If Gabriella Montez had known what this evening would hold for her, she would have never decided to accept her best friend's invitation to her summer ending party. But now here she was, oblivious to the events coming to her, searching for the perfect party outfit with her two best friends, Sharpay Evans and Taylor McKessie.

She was just looking through a mass of dresses, as a piercing shriek rang in her ears. Sharpay came running towards her, a red party dress in her hands. Having found their party outfits already, Taylor and Sharpay had taken to helping their best friend to find hers and now it seemed like Sharpay had finally found something that would live up to her standards. Gabriella sighed heavily. How could she explain to her that she wasn't looking for a dress like one she would wear for prom or homecoming, just for a simple party outfit? Knowing Sharpay, she knew she would have to put up with an upset friend if she'd dare to criticise any of the proposed outfits too heavily.

So she examined the dress really carefully before finally deciding that it was much too much dressing up if she'd wear it at a simple house party, even if it was the Evans' household. She threw a desperately for help begging look to Taylor who had approached them as she had noticed that Sharpay had found something. Taylor, being the helpful friend she was, took the dress out of Sharpay's hands and looked at it. Cocking one eyebrow, she shook her head.

"You can't be serious, Shar! This is a dress I would wear for prom! We're looking for a plain outfit Gabriella can wear without being in the centre of attention all the time, just because she looks like she's gone nuts to wear such a thing on a house party!", she exclaimed. Sharpay looked slightly offended.

"But it's so beautiful! Do you know how stunning she would look in that dress?" She pointed at the dress Taylor had already put back where it had been. Gabriella chuckled. Of course, that was a reason for Shar to buy a dress. Not because it suited the event, but because she would look stunning. Leaving her two friends bickering, she left the store making sure Taylor saw her, so they would follow her, and entered the next one.

Thoughtlessly, she looked through the pile of clothes, lying on a table next to the entrance. That was when she spotted a boy standing in front of the changing rooms. She could only see half of his back, but she'd bet that he was immensely bored. After all, this was a shop for women clothing. She giggled as she thought about the only reason there could be that the boy was in here. There was no doubt that his girlfriend had threatened to do something horrible to him if he didn't come shopping with her.

Her giggles ended abruptly as she recognized the boy. He had looked familiar and now, seeing his whole backside because he had moved, she immediately knew who he was. There was no mistaken; his well-built body you could make out under his clothes, the sandy-brown hair and his unmistakeable features, for example his bright-shining blue eyes, that were never dull, that she could make out as he slightly turned his head in her direction, but still without seeing her.

Troy Bolton. The player of East High School. The best-looking student the school had ever seen. The boy each girl would kill for to be his girlfriend. The most annoying dickhead if you'd ask Gabriella. And her ex-boyfriend. The person she had loved more than everybody ever before. The person that was now the one she hated the most. Her knees went weak as she thought about the consequences if he saw her.

There was no chance they would get out of the store without getting into a huge fight. And that was because that was what they always did if they did so much as taking a glimpse at each other. After all, they weren't known as enemies for no reason. Anger flashed through Gabriella's body as she thought about what he had done to her in Sophomore Year. Deciding that she really wasn't in the mood to start a fight in a public place, she turned on her heel and headed out of the shop. Under no circumstances she'd let Troy Bolton ruin her shopping trip.

Outside she looked for her friends. Since they were nowhere in sight, she concluded that they were still arguing. Laughing, she shook her head. Leave it to Taylor and Sharpay to draw out an argument to incredible length. Suddenly she heard bickering coming from the other side of the street. She looked over and saw her best friends coming out of the shop Gabriella had left over ten minutes ago. Heaving a sigh of relief she ran over to them and pulled them along with her, not caring for the idle protest coming from Sharpay.

Taylor, knowing the look in Gabriella's eyes, let herself being pulled along with her, since they were out of eyeshot of the shop Gabriella had seen Troy in. Coming abruptly to a halt, Gabriella let herself fall onto a park bench. Seeing Troy Bolton had been the last thing she had wanted to do at her last day of vacation.

"Gabriella Montez!" Sharpay's high pitched voice rang in her ears as the blonde threw herself into pose standing in front of Gabriella, hands on her hips. "What the hell, do you think, have you done right there?!" She pointed backwards to the shopping alley, obviously scandalized because someone had dared to make her come along without her accordance.

Taylor rolled her eyes. That was so typical of Sharpay. Never caring for anyone but herself, not taking the slightest hint that something could be wrong with another person. Well, maybe that was exaggerated. Taylor knew that Sharpay could be a good friend, the best when it came to love and heartbreak, to friendship and family, but of course also when it came to breaking rules, partying and – not to forget – shopping.

But right now Sharpay was anything but the helpful, understanding friend she could be. She was furious. "We were looking for an outfit for you and then you just come out of the blue and pull us with you! Why the heck did you do that?"

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Bolton!", she managed to get out, her blood still boiling just because of seeing him. There was no other person she despised more than him. Not only had he managed to steal her heart and break it afterwards, no he had had the cheek to stomp on it, too, not caring what she was feeling by him doing so. And so, instead of suffering – she had refused to do so after all he had done -, she had taken to hate him. And now, nearly two years later, her hatred hadn't worn off at all, if anything it had become more.

Sharpay instantly shut her mouth after Gabriella had mentioned Troy's name. Worried she threw a look to Taylor, who shrugged helplessly. None of the two had a clue why Gabriella would mention her ex-boyfriend without being forced to.

"He was there. In the store next to the one you two were bickering in. In the one I went in." Gabriella felt the need to explain herself. Taylor's and Sharpay's eyes widened in shock. "He hasn't seen you, has he?" the two of them asked synchronously. Neither Sharpay nor Taylor wanted to imagine what could have happened if Troy had actually seen Gabriella.

"Did you hear any screaming?" Gabriella asked them, grinning slightly. Her best friends released a breath both of them didn't know they had been holding. "Thank god!" Taylor groaned relieved. "I really didn't need a fight like the two of you have been brought about a quarrel last week."

Gabriella just made a face at the very present memory. "Ughh, me neither. I really don't have the energy for anything like that at the moment. And I still don't have an outfit for your party, Shar." She changed the topic of their conversation, not wanting to talk about Troy any longer.

"Oh my god, you're right!" the blonde exclaimed and threw her hands up in horror. She looked at her watch. "Damn it, we just have six hours left till it starts and we'll need at least three hours to get ready. What do we do now?"

Taylor looked at Gabriella. "We should go back to the mall and try to avoid Troy as much as possible. Anyways, why exactly was he in a store for women's clothing?", she asked bewildered, not catching the point in that.

Gabriella just shrugged with her shoulders. "I don't know and I don't care. Probably going shopping with one of his sluts. What's her name this week? I' afraid I'm not up-to-date since it's still summer vacation and all." Sharpay just shook her head at Gabriella's sarcasm. "You really need to quit calling all these girl sluts, Gabs. Most of them really think they have a chance with him for longer then one week."

Gabriella cocked one eyebrow. "And your point is?" Sharpay sighed in defeat. "Okay, no point in trying to change your mind about that, is there?" Gabriella didn't even bother to answer. She just turned and went back to the mall, her friends following closely behind her.

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Two and a half hour later the three girls arrived at the Evans' mansion, totally worn out from their shopping trip. But none of them cared. After all, they had reached their goal and finally found some hot outfit for Gabriella to wear at the party. Chatting and giggling they stormed through the front door and had to stop abruptly to not bump into Ryan Evans, Sharpay's twin brother.

"Woah there, girls!" he exclaimed, shocked by the sudden arrival. Sharpay just put him off and turned to Gabriella. "Wow, I almost thought we'd never find something fitting for you. You took ages to eventually agree to that top!"

Gabriella laughed. "It was twenty minutes, Shar! That's not that long. Besides, may I remind you of the last time you wanted to buy a pair of shoes? You took over two hours to decide between ten different pairs! That's what _I_ call long!"

Ryan could only roll his eyes. _Girls and shopping! _He silently swore that that was a complete different world from the one that was called reality. However, he was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by Taylor, who had approached him.

"Hey, Ry!" she greeted him friendly. "What's up?" The blonde smiled. "Oh, not much, you know. Just getting ready for the party tonight. You?" The brunette smiled back. "Trying to avoid a conversation about who takes the longest time when we're shopping." Ryan nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean. You don't know how many times I've already had to listen to Sharpay's endless stories about this top or that blouse, these trousers or that skirt…. It can get on your last nerves."

At that moment he felt someone smack his head. "Ry, I heard that!" Sharpay exclaimed and instantly checked her nails if they were broken from the smack. Ryan just shook his head at his sister while trying to stop it from hurting. "You were supposed to." He just replied calmly before taking off in a different direction to prevent himself from getting smacked again.

Gabriella and Taylor bursted out laughing, while Sharpay pouted. "That was mean!", she complained, watching her best friends practically rolling on the floor. "Come on, it wasn't that funny! Let's go upstairs to get ready for tonight. After all, we want to attract a lot of attention from everybody, don't we?"

Taylor agreed immediately, but Gabriella wasn't so sure. "Well, depends on who the attention is from.", she whispered barely audible, as a thought struck her. She came to an abrupt halt as they were climbing up the stairs. Taylor, going directly behind her, crashed into her back and brought the two of them to fall.

"Owww!" Both of them let a piercing shriek out. Sharpay, who had already reached the end of stairs, turned around ungraciously. As she caught side of her two fallen friends, she cocked one eyebrow. "What are you two doing down there?" Gabriella unwillingly lifted her head. "We're enjoying the view, what do you think?"

Sharpay opened her mouth to answer, as Taylor came to her help. "That was sarcasm, Shar." The blonde shut her mouth. "Oh!" Gabriella just rolled her eyes and came back on her feet. "I stopped and Taylor crashed into me, we fell and that's why we were laying there.", she explained and then answered to Sharpay's questioning look: "I just wanted to ask,… Is Bolton gonna be there? At the party, I mean."

Taylor's eyes went big. She, too, hadn't thought about that one. With pleading eyes she looked up at Sharpay, whose mouth hung wide open by now, but her friend couldn't meet her wish. "Uhhh, look Gabs, I know you didn't want him here, but what should I have done? A party isn't a party if Troy Bolton's not there, you know? A party without East High's golden boy, that's impossible!"

Gabriella let out a groan. "I really should have bought something that would attract less attention!" Sharpay let out a shriek. "What! No way! What has the outfit you're gonna wear to do with the fact that Troy's gonna be here?"

Gabriella met her eyes unbelieving. "Are you serious, Shar? The moment he gets to see me, he can't control himself and starts a stupid fight, because he's an arrogant, impossible jerk who needs to have every girl in his immediate vicinity at his feet, worshiping the ground he walks on!"

"I am grieved!" Sharpay gave back with attitude in her voice. "Aww, come on, Gabs, you don't have to speak with him. Hell, this house is big enough. If you're lucky, you won't even get a glimpse at him!" Gabriella threw her an evil look. "He better doesn't come near me, or he is in for a big surprise!"

Sharpay and Taylor looked at each other and sighed. It was going to be a really long night.

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Troy Bolton was confused. He could have sworn that he had seen Gabriella Montez, a girl he really didn't like to think about, earlier this afternoon in a women's clothing store, but as he had decided to take a closer look, she had already vanished out of his sight. If it had been her, of course. He wasn't really sure about that, but the girl he had seen had matched Gabriella's features. The long, dark-brown, curly hair, her petite frame and the beautiful brown eyes. But the little bit he had seen hadn't been quite enough to fully recognize her.

And after all, Troy was sure, if it had been Gabriella, she wouldn't have just vanished, she'd have come over to start a fight or at least an argument about something really stupid. So, in his opinion, he shouldn't worry about it.

Which left him to think about the reason why he had been in there. Not having an official girlfriend at this time – not that he had had an official girlfriend since Sophomore year -, he was being followed by a lot of girls, whether they were attending East High or not. Hell, even girls from West High were attracted by him and their schools were enemies. And he liked it.

So when one girl had come up to him this afternoon while he was hanging out at the city centre, he hadn't said no when she had asked him to tell her his opinion about a few clothes she'd like to try on. After all, it meant a full-blown make-out session for him afterwards. And who was he to say no to something like that?

Troy Bolton liked the attention he got from all those girls. Not because that meant he could have them. It meant that he could forget the one girl he couldn't have any longer. Gabriella Montez. Having gone out with her in Sophomore Year was the best thing that had ever happened to him this far – and the worst. Because after one little mistake towards the end of the school year, she had completely brushed him of. Avoided him whenever it was possible, slapped him numerous times in front of the whole population of East High, even in front of a few teachers, yelled at him too many times to count and managed to get out of all this without getting in detention even once.

She even took to blaming him whenever something went wrong. Well, to be honest, he had been the one to blame for most of the things, but not for all. And on top of that, she had managed to embarrass him way more than one time in front of girls he liked to impress.

So, after uncounted weeks of trying to get her to forgive him, he had finally taken to hating her. Why should he beg for her to take him back when she wasn't even willing to give him a second chance? He didn't find an answer to that question and so he had just given it up. Hating her was so much easier than waiting around for her to come to her senses. And so they had become the enemies everybody knew to stay away from when they fought.

Not that he liked fighting with her, plainly because he had lost a few with her, and Troy Bolton never got beaten in fights. Except for the ones with her. And he wasn't fond of that.

On the other side, he sometimes enjoyed fighting with her. It was a welcomed change to his normal life. Being the golden boy of East High meant that nobody dared to disagree with him and the girls laid at his feet without even questioning themselves or him.

Gabriella and her two best friends, Taylor and Sharpay, however weren't afraid of him and had already yelled at him for different reasons more than one time. He had expected Taylor to take Gabriella's side after their break-up, even though her boyfriend was Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend, after all she was Gabriella's best friend. What really had surprised him, was that Sharpay had taken her side, too. He hadn't known the ice queen as one to be sensible, but after they had broken up, she had pulled Troy by side and they had had a talk that hadn't been very pretty in Troy' opinion.

To tell the truth, it had been one of the very rare moments, Troy Bolton had been scared. Trust me, you would have been, too, if there'd be a blonde girl with a very red face, her blood boiling because of something you had done, yelling at you, you'd be scared out of hell.

Gabriella still didn't talk to him, aside from yelling and using a very dangerous low voice. There hadn't been one time they had had a normal conversation in the last year and a half.

Anyways, after a few weeks the huge fight had been laid aside, waiting to come up again, and now he was on speaking-terms with both Sharpay and Taylor.

And that was the reason why he had been invited to Sharpay's summer ending party. He was sure that it'd be a sensational party, nobody could keep up with Sharpay if it came to partying. And Ryan was the best DJ you could find in whole New Mexico. So, as he took off in his car at a quarter to eight, he was optimistic that this night would be a quite good one. He didn't know how wrong he was.

As he pulled up at the Evans' household the party had already started. Loud music could be heard playing from the house and the huge amount of people that were standing and dancing in the garden showed how many people had accepted the invitation. To Troy it seemed like the whole population of East High was there.

Making his way through the crowd without once having to ask people to give way, he entered the living room. The light was dimmed and numerous people already were dancing on the dance floor. From across the room he spotted his best buddies, Chad Danforth, Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross, among with a lot of other team mates from the basketball team, whose captain he himself was. Flashing his most brilliant smile right and left, he made his way over to them, but not without winking at two or three girls, who started giggling the instant he set his eyes on them. Convenient he smiled as he greeted his friends with a manly hug.

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Upstairs in Sharpay's room Gabriella was nearly getting a heart attack. "How could you let me buy this thing?!", she exclaimed, looking at Taylor, indicating to her top she was wearing. "It's way too low-cut. People are gonna think I'm a slut or something like that!"

Sharpay only rolled her eyes and cut her off. "If you use the word 'too' ever again tonight, I'm honestly going to kill yourself." And after some thinking she added: "Or myself. Depends on which is easier to do."

That didn't really ease Gabriella's nerves. So she just threw a dark look in Sharpay's direction and turned to Taylor. "What do I do now?", she asked panicking, while pacing up and down.

"Hey, watch yourself, you're making a hole in my floor!", Sharpay said, receiving an unpleasant look from both Taylor and Gabriella. "What!", she defended herself. Taylor let out a heavy sigh. "This isn't gonna go anywhere. Let's just go downstairs. The party has already lasted a good forty-five minutes and what's a party without its host and her best friends, huh?"

Sharpay gave her a nod. "Right you are!", she agreed and grabbed Gabriella's arm. "And you, missy, are coming with us now. Unless you want to be dragged down the stairs and make a complete fool out of yourself!"

This time it was a terrified look Gabriella threw towards Sharpay. She knew that her best friend was one to fulfil every threat she had ever said loudly. "I'm coming!" Desperately she tried to pull her top up a little bit one last time, before following Sharpay and Taylor out of the door.

As the three girls walked down the stairs, every head was directed into their direction. Several mouths were wide opened and most of the girls in the living room grew red out of jealousy.

The girls looked absolutely stunning in their outfits.

Taylor was wearing a silvery, sparkling halter-neck top, which looked fabulous to her darker skin, with black hot pants, that went very well with her top. Her high heels were a lighter grey, so they matched her top section.

Sharpay had decided on a black cocktail dress, even though she knew that it was only a house party. The dress was cut right above her knees and hugged every curve of her body with grace.

And Gabriella was wearing a red low-cut, backless top that was also hugging her well-built body. After debating for a good five minutes with herself, she had eventually bought black hot pants, similarly to Taylor's. She knew that Taylor wouldn't complain about nearly wearing the exactly same trousers.

Even if Gabriella was worried about her top, she forgot it the instant she had reached the bottom of the stairs. She was happy with the way she looked as a result to the many boys starring at her undeniable longingly. She enjoyed the attention she got. Not half as much as Sharpay would do, but still… it was something.

And during the last year Gabriella had gotten used to getting attention, since she had become captain of the new founded dancing team at East High. Having been a dancer before moving to Albuquerque she was quite a good one and had eventually been nominated as the head of the squad.

That hadn't gone by without getting attention and so she didn't care any longer about that. Looking right and left she searched for any familiar faces besides Sharpay's and Taylor's. Her face lit up as she spotted Chad, Zeke and Jason from across the room, but it went dull as she saw Troy standing with them.

Taylor followed the gaze of her best friend, curious about why her face had gone dull. As she spotted the guys she threw an apologetic look to her. Gabriella just shrugged. Of course Taylor would want to go and greet her boyfriend, probably even hang out with him the whole night long. And it was the same with Sharpay. Ever since she and Zeke had gotten together in Junior Year, the two of them had been inseparable. She had known that and also that Troy was most likely with them.

So, after waving at Taylor and Sharpay, she made her way in the opposite direction, looking for someone to have some fun with. She didn't intend on meeting up with Troy anytime soon.

After three hours music was still blasting through the house and most people seemed to be having a blast. Gabriella smiled. It couldn't have been any different, after all Shar had planned the party in every little detail. And she intended on letting loose tonight and having some fun, too.

She slowly made her way up to the bar to get herself a drink. "One coke, please!", she ordered as the barkeeper nodded and turned around to get her one. "What? Gabriella Montez doesn't drink anything alcoholic?", an unpleasant voice asked from beside her. She recognized it the instant the boy had said his first word. Brandon Grant, one of the members of the football team, had approached her.

Gabriella knew that Brandon had had a crush on her since she had started to go out with – shudder! – Troy Bolton. The very thought of him already made her sick. But not half as sick as the male sitting right next to her. Therefore, she excused herself as soon she had gotten her coke and started her way in another direction but she didn't make it very wide.

After five metres she felt a hand grabbing her shoulder. Immediately she turned around to see who had had the guts to stop her from walking. It was Brandon, again. She sighed heavily, but it went unheard by Brandon.

"Come on, Gabriella, dance with me. You know you want to.", he said cockily, constantly holding onto her arm. Helplessly she tried to wiggle free from his grasp, but wasn't very successfully.

Until someone came to her help. In one swift motion he grabbed Brandon and threw him to the floor, not giving a damn about his protest. "Man, don't you know when a girl says no, it usually means no?", the someone yelled at Brandon who was still lying on the floor.

Gabriella, who had been relieved that someone had come to her rescue, jolted with shock. The one was no other than … Troy Bolton! Anger was starting to boil up inside of her. Why the hell had he done that? Didn't he think she was strong enough to deal with a boy? Did he think that she was too weak to defend herself?

Obviously, nothing of the above was the case. As Troy turned around to look at the girl, he froze in shock. He had just helped Gabriella Montez! How the hell hadn't he recognized her as he had seen Brandon stalking a poor girl? If he had seen that it was her, he would never have come over to her rescue.

Which she obviously wasn't very fond of, he concluded as he saw her starring at him in rage.

"Bolton!", she screamed at him. "What the hell do you think are you doing?!" He starred at her in utter bewilderment. Was it possible?

"I can't believe you!", he responded, head shaking. "If you haven't noticed, it looked like you wanted to get away from him", he pointed to Brandon who was now again standing next to Gabriella, "and all I was doing is helping you."

"Which I regret deeply, if you're wondering about that!", he added and then yelled at Brandon: "What the heck are you doing, still standing here? I think the message was clear enough, even for a dump head like you!"

By this time, the argument had already attracted the attention of all the students partying in the living room. Taylor, Sharpay, Chad, Zeke and Jason headed over to Troy and Gabriella, obviously worried about what was going to happen.

"How dare you!", Gabriella screamed at the top of her voice. "Don't you think I'm strong enough to deal with him? Do you think I need help from a jerk like you?" She couldn't believe him. There he was, standing in front of her and trying to defend his more than stupid actions to her. Who, did the boy think, was he?

Troy's face hardened as he heard the word 'jerk' coming out of Gabriella's mouth. He wasn't going to let that comment going by unpunished. "Yeah, I really thought you were too weak to deal with him. After all, you can't deal with very much, can you? You've proven that in Sophomore Year, I think!"

His friends gasped as he yelled in Gabriella's face. He had broken an unwritten rule they both clung onto while they were fighting. No one of them had ever dared to bring up Sophomore Year. And it was more than Gabriella could take.

With one swift motion she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. Gasps could be heard all around the room. Slowly Troy raised his hand up to his face. Not because it was stinging that much, but he did it to cover the red mark that was forming there. He had gotten used to Gabriella slapping him sooner or later. But she had never dared to do it in such a public place like this.

Satisfied, Gabriella made the attempt to grin at a newly frozen Troy Bolton, but she could only offer a half-looped smile. Turning on her heel once again, she gradually made her way to the stairs and upon them. She didn't want to stay here at the party, but it already had been agreed on that she'd sleep over at the Evans'.

Not daring to show how much Troy's comment had hurt her, she held her head high, as she ascended the stairs. Never letting her guard down until she reached Sharpay's room – you never knew if a couple had made its way up to make out or something like that – she refused to let herself cry.

But the instant she closed the wooden doors behind her, she couldn't hold them in any longer. Tears spilled out of her eyes and started to fall down her cheeks, before she completely broke down on Sharpay's bed.

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Downstairs everybody was still frozen in shock. What would East High's golden boy do now? One half expected him to run after Gabriella to get even for the slap, the other half, however, expected him to let her be and ignore it, because she wasn't important enough to him.

He did the latter, but not because of the reason everybody was assuming. He just didn't do it, plainly because he had been the only one seeing a single tear roll down Gabriella's cheek, as she had tried to contain herself.

He knew for sure that she'd be sitting on Sharpay's bed right now, crying her eyes out. And that was something he couldn't deal with. He could deal with flirting, laughing, giggling, even annoying girls, he could deal with yelling, slapping and screaming ones, but there was one emotion Troy Bolton had never been good with. And that was sadness.

And so, even if he was eager to yell at Gabriella for what she had done a few minutes beforehand, he tried to restrain himself from rushing up the stairs. And for once in his life he was able to contain his anger.

He relaxed visibly as he had decided on what to do. Seeing that, everybody else did, too, and Sharpay was the first to move.

"Okay, guys", she shouted. "Get back to partying, there's nothing else to see here, end of offering!", she tried to break the crowd up, but nobody did move. However, one furious look from Troy was enough to split them up.

The music that had been stopped during the fight was blasting again and everybody went back to dancing, talking, flirting or making out. Even so Troy didn't make one single attempt to move. Being watched by his friends he displayed all of the previous events.

Had he hurt her that much by bringing up Sophomore Year? He shuddered. _You can't honestly pity her! After all she has done to you, _he reminded himself of the former years. But he didn't do a very good job of ignoring the little voice in his head that was saying: _And after all you have done to her? Don't you think she deserves a bit pity? _

_No! _Everything in his body responded. _She had it coming to her. It only serves her right._ He nodded, satisfied with himself. _Never take the blame for any actions that occur without your doing, _he repeated to himself and a grin spread across his face. _Scratch Gabriella! _

Troy shook his head to get rid of his thoughts about Gabriella. He really didn't want to spend the rest of the night thinking about the person he hated with passion. Especially, when she had just made a fool out of him in front of the entire population of East High. Shaking his head, he headed to the bar to grab himself a beer. There he saw Amber standing, looking slightly exhausted because of the fight with Gabriella. Changing his mind about the beer, he grabbed her by the hand instead and took her over to one of the sofas standing in the room. A good make out session would the best to forget about his ex-girlfriend, he decided. And Amber was more than willing to be the person Troy Bolton had decided to make out with.

So, being occupied with some other things than thinking, he finally was able to ban every memory of Gabriella from his mind. And it if was his choice, he'd do everything to make things stay this way.

**This chapter is a filler chapter, so to speak, to introduce the characters and to clear up their positions. There's going to be a lot more twists and drama in the next chapter, don't worry. **

**So, as I already mentioned in the beginning, this is to make up for FBH. I will, however, update that story of mine as soon as I can and I'm thankful for the understanding you guys have for me. **

**Please review this story, no matter if you liked or hated it, if you've already read it or if you haven't. Reviews make for a happy author and a happy author makes for a quicker update on 'First bad Habit'. I'll be in Berlin *excited* this next week, so I'll answer any reviews as soon as I get back. **

**Thanks so much for the support you all have shown me in the last year, **

**ElectrifyingChemistry**

**Lena**


	2. School's starting

**Alright, guys, there's bad and there's good news. ****The bad news is that I still haven't written the last chapter of 'First Bad Habit'. Sad, I know, and I don't even want to know how many of you hate me right now, but it's seriously not something I can control. Things have been a mess after I came back from Berlin, because !finally! my room's finished, so I spent the last days cleaning it out and decorating it again. **

**The good news, however, is that this is the second chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds' and I gladly present it to you. It's a poor substitute, I know, but at least it's something. I'd be very happy if you'd review this piece, too, just so you know. By the way, did you already listen to Ashley Tisdale's 'Guilty Pleasure'? I just got the album and it's absolutely amazing!!! The songs definitely are fourteen steps in the right direction, eighteen if you count the bonus tracks you can receive on the German version. The funny thing is: I'm from Germany and I have got the American… strange. **

**Again, I'm sorry for all potential mistakes I made. Just remember that this was the first story I've ever written and I haven't rewritten it that much. Hope you enjoy it! It is dedicated to both Nicole and Krystina (come up with a nickname for me yet?). Thanks for all the support you constantly show me and all the help I've received from you and hope to further receive in the future. I'll write to you as soon as this chapter is posted.**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. ****It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Troy shook his head to get rid of his thoughts about Gabriella. __He really didn't want to spend the rest of the night thinking about the person he hated with passion. Especially, when she had just made a fool out of him in front of the entire population of East High. Shaking his head, he headed to the bar to grab himself a beer. There he saw Amber standing, looking slightly exhausted because of the fight with Gabriella. Changing his mind about the beer, he grabbed her by the hand instead and took her over to one of the sofas standing in the room. A good make out session would the best to forget about his ex-girlfriend, he decided. And Amber was more than willing to be the person Troy Bolton had decided to make out with._

_So, being occupied with some other things than thinking, he finally was able to ban every memory of Gabriella from his mind. And if__ it was his choice, he'd do everything to make things stay this way._

Chapter two: School's starting

Taylor and Sharpay traded an alarmed look. What to do now? In all of these years of the two of them hating each other they had never seen anything like this. Bringing up Sophomore Year, how could Troy possibly have dared?

They were not the only ones to think that way. Chad put his arm around Taylor, as if trying to protect her from witnessing a scene like that again, and whispered in her ear: "Since when do they mention Sophomore Year again?" Unbelieving he shook his head at Troy, who was still occupied with making out with Amber.

Taylor, not being able to answer his previous question, followed his gaze and gaped at the shocking sight. "No freaking way!", she exclaimed, fuming. "One minute he fights with Gabriella and makes her leave the party, the next he's already making out with some random slut? I can't believe him!"

Ready to storm over to him and tell him a few things Troy wouldn't have appreciated, she huffed dangerously and made an attempt to do what she was longing for, as Sharpay, seeing what her friend was up to, grabbed her at the elbow and stopped her. "Don't you think it's been trouble enough in the last half an hour? I mean, without you storming over and punch him right away."

Incredulously Taylor looked at Sharpay. "You can't be serious, Shar! This is about Gabs and you're hesitating to blow up into Bolton's face?" Sharpay sighed heavily. "Believe me, Taylor, there's nothing I'd prefer more, but I think we really need to look after Gabs. I don't know what she's feeling like with him mentioning it and everything."

Taylor blushed. Damn it, why hadn't she thought about that one? After all, Gabriella would always come first for her, even if the other person was Troy Bolton, basically king of the whole school. However, for Taylor he had lost a lot of his status of being king, after he had done that awful thing to Gabriella in Sophomore Year. In her opinion, Gabriella would have every right to never talk to him again. Which was what Gabriella basically did.

She hadn't heard the two of them exchanging one normal word in all the time they had been separated. If they had seen each other it had either been ignoring the other one or starting a fight with him. This had led to various arguments that hadn't been very pretty to watch.

And after each and every one of them Gabriella hadn't been in the best of moods. In fact, she had become quite scary, which was the reason no one dared to cross her way after a fight. Sometimes pupils feared her more than the ice queen herself if she was in one of her moods.

But not once had Gabriella let herself loose and cried after that. Nevertheless, none of the fights had been including the subject "Sophomore Year". Until now. And Taylor had the feeling that that had finally pushed Gabriella over the edge.

Freeing herself from Chad's grasp after throwing an apologetic look towards him – he just shrugged in understanding – she made her way to the stairs and hurried them up as quickly as she could, Sharpay trailing directly behind her. The party could wait, Gabriella was way more important.

Zeke was still looking the direction Troy had vanished. He shook his head, unbelieving what had occurred in the last past minutes. However, he turned around as he felt a hand being laid on his shoulder. There was Ryan standing behind him, showing a very confused face. "Did something happen?", he asked attentively, as Zeke looked at him in pure shock. Trust Ryan to miss something big like that.

Chad rolled his eyes at Ryan and looked up the stairs. Should he follow the girls? After all Gabriella had become something like a sister to him when she had started going out with Troy. And he knew that to her he was like the big brother she had never had. He looked over to Zeke, who encouraged him with a small smile. Sighing, Chad made his way up the stairs.

Upstairs, Taylor and Sharpay were standing in front of Shar's room, desperately trying to get a word out of Gabriella, who could be heard sobbing nearly hysterically from the other side of the door. "Gabs! Gabriella! Is it alright if we come in? Please, say something!", Sharpay begged. Taylor regarded her surprised. Never had she seen the blonde so caring about another girl than herself.

Gabriella, however, was still not answering, as she couldn't restrain herself from crying. Giving it up to get a word out of her mouth, she lifted herself from the bed and made her way to the door, step by step. Tears still streaming, she opened the door carefully, only to immediately be engulfed into a hug by her two best friends.

"Oh, Gabs!", Taylor whispered into her ear. "It's okay, everything's alright, shhh!" She tried to comfort her best friend, which obviously wasn't working well, seeing as Gabriella just started to cry even heavier. Taylor threw Sharpay a helpless look that was answered by a shrug. Inertly sighing, Taylor guided Gabriella over to Sharpay's bed. It was going to be a long night.

Ten minutes later, as Gabriella had finally calmed down – at least so far that she could speak again -, she looked up with red eyes. Taking in the view of her two best friends standing in front of her with worried looks on their faces, she had to fight with herself not to cry again. It wasn't helping. Tears filling her eyes again, she tried her best to contain them, but broke down in tears again. _Sophomore Year_. That was all that filled her head at the very moment. That of all years in which she had been at East High. The year she wanted to forget most, the one she had wanted to pretend to never have happened. But life obviously didn't work that way.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!", she sobbed into Taylor's shoulder, flinging her arms around the brunette sitting next to her. She couldn't believe that he had brought it up. Did he want her to suffer? At this moment, there was only one answer to that question: Absolutely!

The two girls watching her thought exactly the same thing. Both, not knowing what actually had happened in their second year at East High, exchanged one look. Maybe Gabriella was ready to open up about that, maybe the confrontation with Troy had been precisely that what she had needed.

"Do you want to talk about it, Gabs?" Sharpay asked attentively, approaching the bed and sitting down on it. Surrounded by the two people that meant so much to her, Gabriella finally found a way to restrain herself from crying. However, she was not ready to talk about Sophomore Year. She was surprised anyway that Troy hadn't already told them. After all, _they _did speak to him.

Although they had been very close to end their friendship with him, after the day Gabriella had broken up things with him. Though not knowing what had happened, they immediately had taken Gabriella's side, blaming Troy for the things gone wrong. Gabriella, never having had such good friends, had been so grateful, but yet told them to not break the friendship between them and Troy. The whole thing wasn't worth it, she had decided after many days of suffering. All that counted was that Sharpay and Taylor were there for her. She wasn't sure what Troy would have told them if they had taken his side, but certainly not the truth.

To be honest, now that she thought about it, she was sure he hadn't even told Chad or any of his other mates. Otherwise it would have only taken five minutes for the news to go around the entire school. Gossiping was East High's favourite thing to do, although sports came to a close second.

But Gabriella was obliged that the reason why East High's so called 'Golden couple' was over had stayed in the dark. Until then she always had believed in the fact that gossip always made a mountain out of a molehill, but now she knew better. Not one of the rumours she had heard until now about their break-up had even come close to the real reason and not one of them had been as horrifying as the truth.

She looked up, as she heard someone knock on Sharpays's bedroom door. Shar strutted over, ready to blow up into everyone's face who had the nerve to disturb them. But instead of hitting someone, she gave a slight gasp. "Chad!", she exclaimed and then nervously looked over her shoulder. "I don't think Taylor is free at the moment."

Chad gave a short snort. "Shar, for once I don't want to make out with my girlfriend. Although the thought is very tempting.", he added, grinning. Sharpay rolled her eyes and Chad got serious. "Can I talk to Gabriella?" He really felt like he should be there for her, especially because it had been Troy upsetting her.

Sharpay gave a small smile and gave way for him to walk in. The instant Chad saw that Troy hadn't only upset Gabriella, but also brought her to tears, he cursed silently. He didn't know what his mate had done nearly two years ago, but it had to have been awful. Sometimes Chad asked himself why exactly he was still Troy's friend without questioning the goings in Sophomore Year, and this particular moment was surely one of them.

"Oh, Gabs!", he rushed over and engulfed her into a hug. "Chad!" Taylor sounded appreciating. She really didn't know what to do anymore, but she was sure that Chad would find a way to bring everything back on track. Well, maybe not everything, but the most important things.

Chad threw his girlfriend a questioning look, but Taylor couldn't give him any information.

And Gabriella certainly didn't intend on doing so. Therefore, Chad didn't say a thing as he continued to hug Gabriella. But, he silently swore to himself, he definitely would find out what was going on between his little sister and his best friend. After all, they couldn't go on hating each other forever and somewhere along the line, he was sure, one of them would break and tell what had happened.

Although he slightly did start to doubt his theory after Gabriella suddenly sat up. "Okay, guys, enough crying for today. That git down there doesn't deserve one single tear!" Surprised by the sudden change of things, Taylor jolted up in shock and Chad nearly fell over the edge of the bed.

Sharpay, however, smiled widely. That was the Gabriella she knew, the girl who never gave up to reach whatever her aim was, the girl who never backed off, the girl who fought Troy Bolton, though he had crushed her a few years ago. And that was the girl Sharpay liked most. It wasn't that she didn't like Gabriella when she sometimes showed her weakness, but Sharpay wasn't very good with emotions if they were sad ones. And the Gabriella she liked most was most likely never sad. And that meant lots of fun, partying and – of course – shopping.

Except for that it was impossible to go downstairs again and get on with partying like the incident never happened. And it also wasn't possible to go shopping now, seeing as the clock already showed eleven pm. But what was very possible was having fun. And Sharpay figured that that was what Gabriella needed most at the moment.

So she shooed Chad out of her room and slammed the door forcefully behind him. Not caring about Taylor's protest, she picked up her cell phone and texted Ryan to make sure every guest had left the house after the party downstairs had ended. Even if he had to drum them off.

Then she turned around, looking at the two girls watching her intently. "Now, let's get our own party started!" Gabriella broke into a smile. In a way, Sharpay really was the best friend one could ever have, even if she sometimes seemed to be a bit insensitive.

*

The sun was rising again after the long night filled with fun and little sleep. The day promised to be a very good one, at least concerning the weather. The leaves on the trees shone from the sunlight, reflecting it, so that it fell through the window of Sharpay's bedroom and straight on Gabriella's face.

The girl ungraciously turned her body, so she was lying on her back, not on the side, on which she had been sleeping for the few hours that had been left before they had to get up and go to school. School. The word floated in Gabriella's mind and sank in. Damn!

In one swift motion, the brunette was up on her feet and looked around the room. Her two best friends were still sleeping peacefully, Sharpay in her bed, Taylor on a mattress that had been laid in the room after all three of them had decided that it was too late to stay up any longer. Gabriella quickly searched the room for a clock, until she realised that she wore a watch. Trust her to forget something like that in such early hours.

And it really was still early, Gabriella saw with a sigh of relief. They hadn't overslept like she had feared. Thank God! It wouldn't have been pretty to already get into detention on their first day of school after summer holidays. Which reminded her of the fact that she urgently had to get home because she had forgotten to bring clothes for school. And she wasn't very fond of the idea to turn up in her party clothes. As a first, it would get her a detention the instant she entered the school building and as a second, the boys attending East High weren't exactly known for their shyness when it came to girls with hot outfits.

Shuddering at the very thought of that, Gabriella carefully made her way to Sharpay's desk – it was painted in pink, what else – to write a note, so her friends wouldn't worry about her when they woke up. And she didn't want to wake them, either. Sharpay could get really scary if someone woke her up, even if she could have slept for additional five minutes.

Hastily having scribbled a message on a piece of paper, Gabriella left the Evans' household to drive home in her car. Turning up in the driveway, Gabriella realised that her mom's car wasn't there. Obviously she still was on her business trip. Hadn't she said she would be home at her first day of Senior Year?

Shrugging, Gabriella searched for her house key. Finding it in one of her pockets, she grabbed it and opened the door. The instant she entered the house, she saw the red button on the telephone blink. There was a new message on the answering machine.

Pressing the button for replay, Gabriella ascended the stairs, the voice of her mom filling the house. "Gabby, darling, I'm so sorry, but I can't come home for another two weeks. You know how much I'd love to come home, but there's this contract that hasn't been signed yet and it really is important. So please don't be angry with me. Money's where it always is. Miss you, honey. Mom."

Gabriella just sighed. Of course there was a contract. There always was an unsigned contract which was important. Not to be unfair Gabriella admitted that she knew her mother didn't want to be away from her. It was just that her company requested a lot from their employees and it wouldn't help to not obey the officer. Otherwise, Mrs. Montez would have to fear to be dismissed.

Changing her clothes, Gabriella already thought about school. How would school be, with being a senior and all of that stuff? Not to forget that she was member of the decathlon team and the captain of the dancing squad, that she intended on leading to state championship. It definitely was going to be a very busy school year. A fact that didn't exactly lift her mood, which had sank abruptly, after hearing the message her mom had left.

*

Ten minutes later Gabriella sat in her car, on her way to school. Letting music blast out of the stereo boxes of her cabriolet, she leaned back and tried to relax herself. The air was warm, after all it was only a few weeks after midsummer, and so Gabriella had opened the roof of the car. Her hair was flying in the air stream and the sun shone upon her face.

Relishing the sunbeams, Gabriella turned up at East High. Searching the school's parking lot for a free spot, she caught one, right before a boy in a metallic blue car. The boy honked, as he recognized Gabriella. It was Christopher Bell, the captain of the football team. She had gotten to know him quite well in the last school year, but they weren't a couple. Actually, they were nowhere close to being a couple, as they had tried it with each other, but had both decided that they were better of as friends.

Gabriella smiled apologetically and Christopher or Chris as he was called by most of his team mates, waved back. He wasn't upset that she had taken his chosen spot. The only annoying thing was that now he would have to search for one out of the school grounds. Sighing, he turned his car and drove off fast to make it to home room in time.

Being able to log-off for a short moment, Gabriella allowed herself to just sit in her car for a few more minutes. She really wasn't in the mood to face East High's population, especially after yesterday night. Remembering what had happened, her bad mood that hadn't completely worn off during the car ride came back to her. Great! That was totally the way she had wanted to start her last year at High School, Gabriella thought bitterly to herself.

Anyways, sitting in the car wouldn't make things any better. So she opened her car door and stepped out of it. Searching for any familiar faces she wandered over to the main building. She was wondering about the teacher they would get for home room this year. She desperately hoped that it wouldn't be Mrs. Darbus again. The feared teacher had defrosted a little bit after she had gotten a salary raise in Sophomore Year, but still hadn't made her way on Gabriella's list of favourite teachers.

Gabriella sighed as she pushed open the big white doors to East High School. Her already bad mood was sinking to the absolute freezing point as she spotted Troy and Amber, the head of the cheerleading squad and Gabriella's worst enemy, kissing, or in her opinion, making out, in the hallway, not caring about any school rules against PDA. Gabriella shuddered as she thought about the two most popular teenagers next to her swapping their spit. As a result of that she didn't even attempt to smile as she felt the eyes of a good two hundred people being directed at her. She just kept her head down, moving through the crowd and stealing side glances at the people that moved to give her space.

Again she sighed heavily. It hadn't always been like that, of course it hadn't. When she had started school at East High over two years ago she had been nothing but the shy, studious girl that had gone unnoticed by the jocks and popular pupils. She would bump into one of them and carelessly be thrown to the ground without even being acknowledged. Or she would try to do her homework the best she could with the most effort she had ever made, only to have it stolen by one of the more popular students who didn't make any at all.

But then, however, everything had changed. To be exact, one boy had changed everything. And everything had included Gabriella's life as well as … Troy Bolton's. Not wanting to think about that one, Gabriella banned any thoughts of him from her head. Speeding up and turning into one of the corridors, she made her way to her locker.

Where somebody already was waiting for her. Sharpay and Taylor had positioned themselves at the wall beside her locker and watched her coming their way.

"Gabriella!" She turned around, surprised by hearing the voice. It belonged to a blonde girl, obviously a Freshman. Gabriella was sure that she had never seen her. "Uh, hi! Do I know you?" The blonde shook her head quickly, clearly browbeaten by the question. Gabriella smiled kindly, not wanting to frighten the girl more than she was anyhow.

This seemed to have a calming effect on the younger girl, seeing as she found the courage to finally open her mouth again. "Uh, I just wanted to know when try-outs for the dancing squad are held." Gabriella was surprised. She hadn't expected a young one like this to try out for the team. Usually, the new students waited a year before they signed up for anything that wasn't engaging.

But Gabriella wasn't horrified by the thought of having such a young girl in the squad. If anything she found it tempting to see that there were girls who were eager to enter the squad. And the girl in front of her visibly was more than ready to get in.

Smiling widely, Gabriella answered: "Oh, I haven't made it up yet, but I promise you I'll tell you as soon as I know it, alright?" The blonde broke into a smile. "Okay!", she beamed up at Gabriella and made a move to vanish into the crowd, as the Senior grabbed her arm.

"Wait!", she exclaimed. "Tell me your name, or I won't be able to find you in this crowd!" She gestured to the huge amount of students in the entrance hall. The young girl blushed. How could she have been so dumb? "Becky", she answered shyly before finally taking off in a different direction.

Gabriella giggled. Becky reminded her of herself in that age. Always shy and timid, too afraid to speak with older girls properly. Turning around, she finally made her way to her locker and opened it. Throwing her stuff in and slamming it shut again, she approached her best friends to ask if they already had their timetables.

Presenting the tables, Sharpay held one out for her. "We already got yours, too!", she said proudly and Gabriella squealed with delight. Now she could spare herself the way to the other side of school. "Do we have same lessons?", she asked, eager to hear their answers.

Together they discovered that they would have home room – to Gabriella's great sorrow, they had gotten Mrs. Darbus again -, Maths and Sports together, additional gym and lunch times. "Yeah!" Taylor cheered. "I already checked with Chad, the guys and he have the same things together and that means we're sharing with them, too!"

Gabriella made a face. She was happy about Chad, Jason and Zeke, but the three of them automatically stood for …Troy. And about that she wasn't happy. Not wanting to ruin the good mood she had gained from her conversation with Becky, she quickly changed the subject.

"You saw that girl from just now?" Sharpay and Taylor nodded. "That was Becky. She's a Freshman and wanted to know when try-outs were held." Sharpay smirked. "You gonna let us try out, too?" Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully. "As if you had to ask! I saw you two dance last year and you definitely made the squad, so much I can tell you!"

Taylor laughed with them, but got serious soon after. "And what did you tell her?" Gabriella stopped laughing and began to think. "Well, we really need to hold try-outs early this year because we truly need a better team than last year. If we want to win the state championships this year, we definitely need to work harder. I'm not saying that we sucked last year, but I know we can do better. Especially if we have a few new members like Becky."

Sharpay cocked an eyebrow. "I saw her squirming while talking to you. Do you think she'll make the team?" Gabriella just laughed. "She was being shy, Shar, nothing's wrong with that! And you didn't see the look in her eyes. If I'm not mistaken, she loves to dance and I'm sure she's good at it, too."

The warning bell rang and the three of them made their way to home room, while still talking about the squad. "I say we're setting them on Thursday. That's in three days and until then everyone can make up their mind if they want to try out or not, alright?", Gabriella suggested and entered the class room. Taking her normal seat, Sharpay and Taylor took the ones next to her.

Both agreed with Gabriella and they settled the subject just in time to watch Mrs. Darbus make her appearance. "A good day back at school, class!", she greeted them and gave out assigned things and dates. After having done her duty, she took to ranting about the art of acting and its holiness. Groaning simultaneous, the three girls logged off and attempted to catch up on their missing sleep.

But in life nothing goes the way you want it to go. In exact the moment, Gabriella had finally gotten herself to relax in her seat, a piece of paper hit her head. Angry about the interruption of her attempt to doze off she caught the paper and read the message written on it.

"Straight A student trying to sleep in class? You disappoint me, Montez!" Gabriella bit her tongue to not cry out in irritation. There was no doubt about who had sent that pellet. Slower than slow she turned in her seat and shot daggers in the direction the message came from.

Piercing blue eyes bored themselves into beautiful brown ones that didn't seem so beautiful at the moment. The anger openly present in her eyes, she continued to glare at Troy. But he didn't do her the favour to look away, if anything his look became more intense. Blood boiling inside her, she turned to the front again and grabbed a pencil.

"Piss off!", she wrote and sent the pellet back, hitting Troy straight on the head. With a satisfied grin, Gabriella relaxed in her seat again and closed her eyes. The next paper ball coming to her didn't even get a glance, she completely ignored it.

*

Seven hours later, the first day of school finally was over. At least for most of the students as Troy had called a first basketball practice for the team. And at the moment he thanked himself for that. Being a senior for seven hours and having already had four not very pretty arguments with his ex-girlfriend, he was desperately looking for a chance to release his anger about her. And so, after only half an hour training, most of the players were already sweating heavily and some even were at their limit.

Troy was shocked. Had they done nothing over the holidays? He hadn't expected them to be at the top of their performance, but he hadn't been prepared for this. Only his three closest friends and he himself were still standing on their feet without breathing like a walrus. And he didn't actually like that.

Unbelieving he shook his head. "God, guys! Is that all you have to give? If so, I really should think about holding new try-outs and believe me if I say not even half of you would make the team." Several of the younger members exchanged afraid looks. The older ones weren't more confident and even Chad shook his head. What was up with Troy?

That was exactly the same thing Gabriella was thinking at the very moment. Having had P.E. in her last lesson, she had forgotten her cell phone in the girls' locker room and decided to come back for it before someone could steal it. What she hadn't expected was Troy and his team training in the gym. After all it only was their first day back.

So she had carefully made her way to the locker rooms to fetch her phone and as she had come back there had been no chance to get away unseen by Troy. And being confronted with him was the last thing she was tempted for right now. Even if she had won the last two arguments with him.

But now, watching Troy threatening his team with booting, she couldn't contain herself any longer. Having watched the way Troy had treated his team in the last half an hour, Gabriella knew that he wasn't in one of his good moods. Her opinion was affirmed as he commanded for them to run even more round than they already had. The brunette knew that he only wanted to show them what would happen if they didn't train themselves enough, but what was too much was too much.

Stepping a few metres forward she said: "Have you gone nuts, Bolton?" All boys flinched in surprise and flung their heads around to her. Troy couldn't believe that Gabriella was standing in the gym. "What are _you _doing here, Montez? This is a closed practice!"

"Really?", Gabriella replied, cocking one eyebrow. "Didn't figure that." Troy watched her carefully. Why was she here? He was sure that she was up to something. "And why the hell should I have gone nuts?"

"You don't see? No, of course not, when do you ever care not only for yourself but for anything else?", Gabriella exclaimed and then pointed to the basketball players. "If you make them run another round, they won't be able to play basketball ever again! You can't make them run so much after they have done practically nothing the entire summer!"

Troy got considerably even more upset than he had been anyways. That was exactly his point. They hadn't done anything the whole summer! They should know what would happen if they kept it that way! "That's none of your business, Montez! You don't know anything about basketball and you especially don't know how to train a team."

Gabriella couldn't believe him. Her? Not knowing how to train a team? "I don't know if you had noticed, Bolton,", she replied coldly, "but I do know how to train a team, thank you very much. I do have one to train, so I think that should count for something, don't you think?"

Troy just laughed irritated. "The keyword being _should_, Montez! And I know how to train my team and what's best for it!" Gabriella starred at him. He surely couldn't believe a single word of the bullshit he had just said. "I know, Bolton,", she emphasized, "that you only make them run because you are pissed off. Pissed off at me, I guess, but that's no reason to make them suffer!" Some players shot her a thankful look.

Troy was furious. How dared she? "You know nothing about me, Montez. Absolutely nothing. And you'll never know anything about me."

Gabriella stopped dead in her tracks. He had said she knew nothing about him. He had actually said it. She was frozen by the lie. It was the biggest one she had ever heard in her whole life. Well, maybe the second biggest lie, close to the one he had used after that 'incident' in Sophomore Year. She knew more about him than anyone else in this school. She was sure that he hadn't even told Chad half of the stuff he had told her while they had been together.

So she just shook her head and nearly laughed because of the surrealism of the situation. She couldn't believe he had actually said that. But he had and he knew exactly how deep it would hurt her, she assumed as she looked into his eyes, shining with mockery and hatred. And that was the thing she couldn't take.

Steaming, Gabriella turned on her heel and stormed out of the gym, but not without slamming the door forcefully behind her. Troy jumped, taken by surprise. He hadn't known his ex-girlfriend, small and petite as she was, was so strong to bang the gym door. Although, he assumed, he should have known after the many slaps he had received in the last year and a half. Shaking his head he run his fingers through his hair and looked apologizing at his team mates.

"I'm sorry that you had to listen to her ranting, but that's Gabriella when she's angry.", he tried to say calmly – "Say what! Talk about a news flash!", he heard Chad whispering to himself sarcastically -, but failed miserable doing so. His voice trembled with anger and inside his blood was boiling. How dared Gabriella to speak to him the way she had just did? He wasn't captain of the basketball team and most popular guy of the school for nothing. But…, if he thought about it, he also wasn't the one Gabriella hated most for nothing.

Shrugging, he banned her from his mind and blew the whistle. He was going to make the team train hard this year. He wanted to win the championships again and one of the reasons why he would train the team harder than usual was a little run-in with West High's basketball captain. He knew that they were tempted to beat them this year, and Troy definitely wasn't going to let that happen.

*

As Gabriella made her way back to the main building, she was still trying to get over her anger. Not looking where she went, she nearly run into Brandon, who smirked at her. "Hey there, hottie!" Gabriella rolled her eyes. He still hadn't gotten the message.

And he probably never would, so she just remained still and made her way over to the doors. From the distance she could hear Brandon call after her. "You look stressed, you know that?" Gabriella didn't answer. Of course she looked stressed. Who wouldn't after a run-in with the biggest jerk alive? "But if you ever want to release some of that, you know where to find me, do you?"

Gabriella didn't even need to turn around and look at him. She already knew that there would be a suggestive grin playing around his mouth. She shuddered. She would prefer to kiss a giant squid before she would kiss Brandon. Not turning around, she automatically raised her hand and showed him what she thought about his suggestion. She could hear him snigger by her reaction.

Gabriella groaned audible. This was going to be a long school year. And she wasn't looking forward to it.

**Hey! So that was the second chapter with the third to come. On a regular this time, because – as I already mentioned beforehand – I don't have to write it anymore. I'll concentrate on FBH the best I can, but as always I can't promise anything. **

**I'd really appreciate it if I'd get some reviews, because you know: Reviews make me happy. That used to be chocolate, but I don't eat that anymore, so I need the reviews :) And anyone who's got any questions concerning this story or any of my others: Don't be afraid to ask. I don't bite. **

**Until next time, **

**ElectrifyingChemistry**

**Lena**


	3. What goes around

**Alright, guys, I'm really sorry for this time's belatedness, but I was busy. Now my holidays have finally started and I couldn't be happier, because there are six week of doing nothing else but things I love to do… and that includes writing for FFN, so I hope that I'll have time to write a few things and post them. I promise you'll get the last chapter of FBH as soon as possible (I have already started writing it, yeah me)**** and maybe then some *wink* **

**I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed the last two chapters and I'm sorry that I haven't answered them already, but something came up and I promise to do it as soon as I have this chapter up. Not much to say here besides that I'm really glad to be back…**

**SPECIAL NOTE to Nicole and Kessy: Sorry, guys, but you know why I haven't been able to write. This chapter, however, means that I'm back and I'll write to you again… but there's one thing I have to say: Life's cruel and that's why my E-mail account has decided to terminated itself. All of my mails are gone and so I'll have to answer whatever has been stuck in my mind. But don't worry: the report about Berlin is still coming up :)**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend Kristina. She's enjoying her holidays in Italy at the moment and she'll be gone for three whole weeks… she liked this chapter the last time round, so I thought it would be fitting. **

**Disclaimer:**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. ****It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Gabriella didn't even need to turn around and look at him. She already knew that there would be a suggestive grin playing around his mouth. She shuddered. She would prefer to kiss a giant squid before she would kiss Brandon. Not turning around, she automatically raised her hand and showed him what she thought about his suggestion. She could hear him snigger by her reaction._

_Gabriella groaned audible. This was going to be a long school year. And she wasn't looking forward to it._

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Chapter 3 – What goes around…

Within the next three days, life went on as it was supposed to be. Time ran by, as the students tried to keep up with the noticeably growing pile of homework and projects, assigned in the hope the students would work even harder than they did anyways.

Moaning and grumbling could be heard at the end of every class as the teachers added long essays or complicated equations to their already big – too big for some – pile. But that didn't exactly stop the teachers from giving homework that were much too much and – on top of that – due next week.

Nevertheless, the seniors didn't want to put their social life on hiatus. After all, this was the year they had yearned for, ever since they had seen a senior for the first time in their lives – so to say since pre-school. And they really didn't intend on letting school overwhelm their personal life.

That was probably the reason why you could only find Gabriella Montez in the library if you went there on Thursday morning during free period. Not that you would spend your free time studying while being a senior, but there still was a small chance, don't you think?

Anyways, the calmness in the library didn't last for very long. Ten minutes after Gabriella had made her way there, the door was slammed open and two red-faced girls stormed in. The librarian raised her head, not very pleased by the shameless disturbance. But before she could say one single sentence, the girls had already begun to talk to Gabriella – simultaneous and not very clear to understand.

Gabriella, being held from studying, just shook her head. They would never learn that they'd have to repeat all of the said if they spoke to the same time. After all, it were Sharpay and Taylor, girls with brains, but not the best when it came to telling something important.

As the two girls made no attempt to stop speaking any time soon, Gabriella saw herself obligated to interrupt them. "Girls!", she said. "Take a breath! And then please repeat what you've tried to say for the last, ", she looked at her watch, "five minutes."

They both stopped in mid-sentence and groaned simultaneous. Slowly it got scary. Gabriella cocked an eyebrow and watched them carefully. What the hell were they thinking just to storm into the library and disrupting her from studying? She had the frightening thought that it was something crazy like just them could come up with.

It was nothing anywhere near that. After taking a deep breath, Sharpay started talking while Taylor was still trying to catch her breath. "Where the hell are you?", Sharpay screeched, just to look around carefully the next moment to see if the librarian, Ms. Donovan, was anywhere in sight. To her luck, she wasn't to be seen; otherwise it would have gotten her in detention. Screaming in the library – a severe crime if you asked Ms. Donovan.

Gabriella was confused. It was obvious where she was, wasn't it? Otherwise they wouldn't be standing right in front of her, would they now? But Sharpay had already corrected her sentence. "I mean, why the hell are you in here?" Uhh, okay, that was obvious as well in Gabriella's opinion. Studying, what else was there to do in a library?

_Kissing, _a little voice inside her head reminded her. She blushed. Where the hell had that come from? The last time she had done that had been over two years ago. With Troy. Hastily she shook her head to eliminate that thought. There was no way she'd be thinking about that time. Although she had enjoyed his lips on hers…

_No! Gabriella__, snap out of it!_, her brain was slowly taking over anything else again, much to Gabriella's relief. Troy hadn't got anything to do in her head anymore, not after all he had done. And after all he had _not_ done.

"Gabriella?" She snapped out of her thoughts and was welcomed with Sharpay's red face. "Could it be that you're not even listening?" Uh oh, if there was one thing her best friend really couldn't stand it was if someone didn't listen to her.

Gabriella grinned discomfited and asked: "Could you – just maybe – repeat what you've said? Again?" After all, it had already been the second time. So she wasn't surprised at all when Sharpay looked as if she was near a heart-attack. And as red as she was at the moment Gabriella had the horrifying image of the blonde's piercing screams in her head.

Obviously she wasn't the only one, seeing as Taylor laid her hand on Sharpay's shoulder and tried to calm her down. "Everything's alright, no need to get upset, Shar!" She turned to Gabriella: "She asked why you aren't in the gym, because we have try-outs?"

Gabriella's eyes went big. Shit! She had totally forgotten them! And what did it look like if the captain didn't come to try-outs? At an intense rate she had closed her books, grabbed them and was already sprinting to the door, while shouting over her shoulder: "Come on, we have somewhere to be!"

Sharpay and Taylor looked at each other, eyebrows cocked and head shaking. Trust Gabriella to get in panic-mood just because she was fifteen minutes late. Shrugging they turned around and followed the brunette. Or, to stay true, wanted to follow her until they saw a very troubled Gabriella standing in front of Ms. Donovan.

Exchanging worried looks, the slowly approached them, only to hear Gabriella trying desperately to get out of the detention she had just gotten. "But, Ms. Donovan, please! I just… I'm just late for dancing try-outs and I might have forgotten to be quiet, but couldn't you please make one exception?" The librarian stayed hard.

"There is no way I'm letting you off this time. If I remember correctly I already let you off last year. And that was just because you were…" She broke up, clearly embarrassed. But she didn't need to end that sentence; Gabriella already knew what she was talking about. That had been in the first week after her break-up. To her biggest surprise, not just half of the population had taken to her side after that incident; most of the teachers had done, too.

Of course not as conspicuous as the students, but still. They had overseen her missing homework, been nice to her if she hadn't paid attention and in some cases like Ms. Donovan's had let her off detention.

Not wanting to let the previous events overcome her again, Gabriella just brushed it off and straightened herself. "It's alright, Miss, I'll just be there." And with that she vanished trough the doors, not wanting to delay try-outs any longer. Taylor smiled at Ms. Donovan as she dragged Sharpay with her, hurrying after Gabriella.

*

Five minutes later, Gabriella made her appearance in the gym, having changed into her dancing outfit. Of course she wouldn't actually need it; she wasn't the one to dance today. Becky was one of the girls to try out and as Gabriella saw her she smiled at her, seeing the blonde smiling back. But not even her grin could overact her nervousness, as Gabriella could see clearly.

She nearly laughed out loud. As she had had to dance for the position of captain, she had been nervous as hell. And she knew exactly how the girls waiting for their chance to join the squad were feeling. As she overlooked the girls, she ascertained that Becky wasn't the only Freshman trying out. With her were a whole bunch of girls, giggling and chatting, waiting for Gabriella to arrive.

When they finally saw her, the entire gym went silent. The only sound heard was the slamming of the gym door. As all heads were directed to it, they saw Taylor and Sharpay grinning abashed. Gabriella rolled her eyes. Of course closing the door regularly was out of the question for a drama queen like Sharpay.

Slowly the two girls ventured over and positioned themselves next to Gabriella. Not having to try out, they both had agreed to keep an eye on the dancing girls to be able to help Gabriella decide. With a hem, the dancing captain got the attention that had been withdrawn back and now all students were looking at her, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Hey girls!", Gabriella began, playing with the hem of her shirt. Speaking in front of many people wasn't her thing and it would never be. "I'm really sorry I've come that late, but I had to do something very important." Taylor and Sharpay sniggered. "You could say that or you could just say: Sorry, I've completely forgotten."

Gabriella threw them a dirty look. That wasn't funny! She once again directed her attention to the students in front of her. "But we'll start now and I hope we'll get to see all of you, otherwise it wouldn't be fair, would it?" She laughed lightly and took a look at her watch. That would be narrow if she wanted to see all of them.

She threw a help-seeking look at Taylor. She would have a solution for the problem, she always had. And so it was. "We could enlarge the whole thing to lunch. First let the ones try out who haven't lunch next period and then go on with the ones that are free next period. It's as easy as that!"

Gabriella nodded relieved. That was good. And it had another benefit, one she couldn't possibly let escape. She wouldn't have lunch and that meant she wouldn't have to see Troy Jerk Bolton. And everything was fine as long as she wouldn't have to see him. With a sigh she let herself fall into the next chair and watched as the first girl came up.

It was just her luck that Taylor had already organized the needed stereo equipment and so there was nothing stopping the auditions anymore. Allowing her body to relax, Gabriella observed the opening routine, her feet slightly tapping to the upbeat music that sounded through the gym.

*

While the try-outs were run, Troy Bolton was walking down one of the corridors of East High, not caring about the girls winking at him and their desperate tries to get his attention. In his opinion, a little more subtleness would be good for them. Not that he'd care.

He looked up as Chad Danforth, his best mate, came up to him. He had been vanished for the first time of the free period, but seeing as it was Chad he probably had searched for something to eat. Which was right, as Troy discovered only seconds later. Stuffing a hamburger in his mouth, Chad walked after him and tried to swallow it.

Troy shook his head. How could someone possibly eat that much and still not gain any visible weight? "Why does your girlfriend still like you?", he asked, incredulous why Taylor actually put up with his best friend. Chad rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time Troy asked that question and it wouldn't be the last time.

"Just because you have changing girlfriends at a flying rate doesn't mean that a girl can't stay true to their boyfriend, or the other way round.", he answered, having eventually managed to get the burger down his throat. Troy coughed and entered the library, which had been just around the corner.

"I haven't had a girlfriend for God knows how long!", he spat out – whispering, not wanting to get a detention -, trying not to think about the last decent one he had had. "Yeah, who believes that?" Chad enquired, as he threw the basketball he most certainly had snatched away from some younger kid before he had found Troy in the air. "You know very well that Gabriella was your last one."

Troy was shell-shocked. Never before had Chad had the courage to bring that topic up, the only one Troy was sensitive about. Chad seemed to think the exact same think, because he threw Troy an apologetic look. "Sorry! Didn't mean to bring that up, man!"

Troy looked at him unbelieving. He had waited the whole day for Chad to lecture him about Sunday evening and now he had barely stroke that topic and didn't intend on bringing it up? Troy wasn't having any of it. He stopped walking and sighed. Running his fingers through his hair he stared at Chad.

"Just say it!", he demanded, starring square in Chad's eyes. "Say I've gone too far on Sunday, I should have never brought up Sophomore Year, I shouldn't have made her cry." Chad starred back in utter confusion. Had he heard correctly? Was Troy Bolton really blaming himself for what he had done? Chad couldn't believe it.

And he definitely didn't know what to say. So he started out with the first thing coming to his mind. "How do you know she cried?", he spluttered out; next thing he did was cursing himself: He had promised Gabriella to not tell him. But his concern was a waste of his time, for Troy was already answering: "I saw the tear falling down her cheek. Why do you care?"

Chad didn't know the answer to that. He didn't really care; he just hadn't had anything better to say. So he just shrugged and carried on: "Actually, I didn't plan on lecturing you about yesterday, but now you've mentioned it: What the hell was wrong with you? I don't know what happened back in Sophomore Year, but I guess you've done something really stupid. And now you're blaming yourself for both back then and your slip on Sunday. Gosh, Troy, what the heck's up with you?"

Troy kept silent. His mind was racing at an insane speed and for the first time in more than one year, he began to think about Sophomore Year again. He closed his eyes, painfully thinking about what had happened back then. About his mistake, which probably was the biggest mistake he had ever done in his whole life.

But then again, he thought, he wasn't the only one to blame. Might be that he was liable for most of the things, but not for all. But, of course, he thought, Gabriella hadn't been having any of that and just blamed him for all things. But had she let him explain, had she let him apologize? No, she hadn't, she had jumped to conclusions and dropped him like a hot potato. And that certainly wasn't his fault at all.

His blood began to boil once again, as he mulled over the fact that not only Gabriella thought he was the only one blame-worthy. Even Chad had assumed he had done something wrong; the instant East High's golden couple's break-up had been official half of the school population had taken Gabriella's side. Well, at least not all girls – they had been jealous of Gabriella for quite some time and were just happy about Troy being free again – but many of the boys – not astonishing in Troy's opinion, after all Gabriella was hot.

And that was what had really upset Troy. And now all his anger came back up again and he barked at Chad: "Exactly, you don't know what happened! And I'm not blaming myself, that's insane!"

Immediately he whished he hadn't shouted it. Ms. Donovan came running around a bookshelf and shot him a glare Mrs. Darbus couldn't get done more frightening. "Detention, Mr. Bolton! It's a pity that today's students have no respect for the silence in a library. That's the second detention I'm giving today! After last period, here in the library, understood, Bolton?"

Troy just nodded; contradiction would only make everything worse. Snorting, Ms. Donovan vanished again behind a bookshelf and he repeated in a low voice: "I'm not blaming myself!" Chad looked unbelieving. Of course, and the reason he had started yelling was…? Chad knew that Troy wasn't as hard as it seemed and he knew that he missed Gabriella; in his very own way he was hurting just as much as she did and both tried to overact it with the hatred they showed towards each other. Some people might think that Chad was a little dump, but no one could fool him, and especially not Troy, his best friend, and Gabriella, the girl he had grown quite fond of once he had gotten to know her.

And in fact Chad was surprised that there hadn't something happened already. In his opinion, neither Troy nor Gabriella were capable of hiding their feelings for each other for very long, but they still had made it until now. And as a result Chad assumed that both weren't ready to change something in that.

So he just shrugged and defended himself: "Okay, okay, I'll shut up. But it's no wonder I don't know anything if both of you can't seem to get your mouths open." Troy raised his head. "She hasn't told you anything?" Well, at least he knew now why Chad hadn't stopped talking to him, too. The only thing he knew was that Troy had hurt his friend, but not how much.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Maybe that isn't the worst thing. After all, I'm still hanging out with you, am I not?" He patted Troy's back and changed the topic, not wanting to hear any more. "But tell me about that chick you're hanging out with at the moment. I believe, it was Amber?"

Troy groaned. He had just managed to ban Amber from his mind. For all he knew, she was in the gym this moment, holding try-outs for the cheerleading squad. Or something like that. He hadn't exactly listened when she had told him this morning. After all, she said a lot of rubbish and he had stopped listening to her on Monday morning as he had noticed it the first time.

"Don't get me started!", he warned Chad. "That girl gets so clingy; I think I'll dump her in one or two days at the latest." Chad smirked. "See, that's why Taylor puts up with me. We don't see too much of each other. I tell you, that's extremely helpful for a relationship."

Troy didn't really believe in that theory. While being a couple, him and Gabriella had been together all the time, but for some weird reason it hadn't bothered him, if anything he had whished to spend even more time with her. And he had been able to actually talk to her, because she wasn't one of those brainless cheerleaders, she was one of the cleverest girls he had ever met. And he really missed speaking to a girl.

*

With his assumption, Amber was in the gym, Troy was half correct. Knowing that Gabriella had put dancing squad try-outs on Thursday, Amber had decided to do cheerleading try-outs on the same day. Wanting nothing more than getting rid of the dancing squad, she had assumed that forestalling of their try-outs would be a good way to show them which was the better squad.

But much to her dismay, she had over read the exact time and so she walked in the gym at lunch time, a bunch of cheerleaders and girls who wanted to try out behind her. To this time, Gabriella was already halfway through and Amber, totally bewildered, had to see that there was nothing she could do to get the gym for herself now.

Not wanting to give up, she walked up to Gabriella and put her hands on her waist. "What are you doing in here? I set cheerleading try-outs for today, so I'm afraid you have to leave the gym!"

Gasping at her cockiness, Gabriella laughed unbelievingly and shook her head. "Amber, who the hell do you think you are? I've set our try-outs for this date and I even went to the principal to ask for permission. Which he gave me, by the way. So I'm afraid you're the one having to leave the gym."

Sharpay and Taylor smirked at Amber, the girl – it was Becky - who had been dancing had stopped her current movement and the entire gym fell silent. Everyone knew that Gabriella couldn't stand Amber and vice versa. This was going to be interesting.

Amber threw her head back and gave a forced giggle. "You don't think that dancing is more important than cheerleading, do you? So I'd say, permission or no permission, you leave, so we can get on with our try-outs. After all, we need some good girls to cheer for our basketball stars. And especially for my new boyfriend Troy!"

Now it was everyone else's turn to gasp. Amber was Troy Bolton's _girlfriend_? He hadn't had a decent girlfriend since … Gabriella! Although many of the aboard girls weren't sure if Amber was to be called decent.

Gabriella swallowed hard. Girlfriend? She hadn't expected that. Sure, she had seen them kissing in the hallway, but that was normal for Troy. Why the hell should he get himself a girlfriend if half of the female population threw themselves at his feet? And why the hell Amber?

Everyone stood still, watching and waiting for a reaction from Gabriella. The latter, very well aware of that fact, tried to regain herself. _Don't show any sign that could mean you're affected by that! _Gabriella reminded herself, before she composed herself and threw an icy look at Amber. "I don't care about that or the fact that you're Troy's girlfriend. For all I care, you could be the fiancée of the king of England – uh, I'm sorry they have a queen - and I wouldn't care."

Amber didn't buy that. "Ha! I don't believe a word. You'd do anything to make Troy yours again!" That was the first time anyone besides the two moved. Taylor moved in front of Gabriella and spat: "You can't honestly believe that! Just for the record, she's the one who's broken up with Troy and not the other way round. And I don't even believe that you're his girlfriend. Even though I don't like him for what he's done to Gabriella, I know that he has got a better taste in girls."

Gabriella was shocked. Taylor was the last person she had expected to say something like that. But she didn't complain, on the contrary she confirmed every word that had been said. "She's right!", she said while walking next to Taylor. "I don't want him back and I don't care about him. I hate him if you've failed to see that. But if you really did, you'd be really dumb if you ask me."

Amber snorted. "Try to tell yourself that, I won't listen. I know you still love him, but it's sure as hell that he doesn't even like you anymore. And that's the reason you're trying to act like you hate him!"

Gabriella was speechless and so was everybody else. Nobody had ever even dared to think of that, they all believed Gabriella when she said she couldn't stand him. And now they were bewildered that Amber dared to assume that.

Becky, seeing that Gabriella was unable to answer, stepped in front of Amber. "You're nuts, aren't you? How dare you say something like that to Gabriella? Just because you're jealous because she's so much better than you doesn't mean you can stomp on her whenever you like! And just for the record: Yeah, she does think that dancing is better than cheerleading! We all do, to tell the truth!"

She looked questioningly over Amber's shoulder directly at the girls standing behind her. And she wasn't disappointed. All of them raised their hands and started clapping, no one could disagree with that, otherwise they would have gone to cheerleading try-outs instead trying out for the dancing squad.

Satisfied, Becky looked back at Amber. "So… have you anything to say against that? You don't have any reasons to say cheerleading's better than dancing, you don't have any prove now, do you?" She smirked at the sight of Amber, standing speechless, not knowing what to do.

No one had ever dared to stand up to her like that – no one except Gabriella, that is -, an especially no freshman. Gabriella, though, was moved. She had known the girl for three days now and had grown very fond of her, but this was something she hadn't expected. There she was, standing in front of Amber, defending her, a girl that theoretically was absolutely foreign to her.

Sharpay nearly laughed. "That girl has just made the squad. I haven't seen much of her dancing, but a girl with that temperament can't be bad at that!", she whispered in Gabriella's ear. The brunette smiled. She couldn't agree more with that. "You've made the squad, Becky!", she told the young girl and everyone in the gym squealed. Normally it would have taken ages for them to find out who made it and who didn't, but this was extravagant.

Amber, though, just snorted again. "Making the squad just because defending someone? That's low, Gabriella, really low! Your squad can't be good, if you decide after such criteria."

Becky, having laughed relieved one second beforehand, changed her expression from happy to dangerous. "How dare you criticize her? She's better than you, haven't I already said that?"

Amber glared at her. "Don't you dare opening your mouth in front of me, greenling! You don't even have the right to say something like that!" Becky just fake-smiled. "Afraid that someone says the truth? What are you going to do to prove you're the better one?"

Amber's eyes widened. Nobody had ever had the guts to say something like that. And she wasn't going to let it go by without doing _anything_. You could nearly see the wheels of her brain working as she racked her head for an idea. Then a smile went over her face.

"Well, let's say… A contest! A contest between cheerleading and dancing. And the prize for winning is … Troy Bolton!"

**So, ****guys, here's the third chapter. Again sorry for the delay and thank you for waiting on me. I hope you liked it and please, please, please review. It means much to me to hear what you think about my stories, if you like them or if you hate them, what I could improve and what you think about my style of writing. **

**And I wanted to say thanks to zanessa4evr12 for telling me about a mistake I made in one of the chapters. I accidentally said they'd broken up in Junior Year and not in Sophomore Year. I changed it, so now it says the right thing. But thanks for pointing it out, because it helps me get this story straight. **

**The next chapter will be up next week as promised, so until then**

**ElectrifyingChemistry**

**Lena **


	4. comes around

**Alright, guys, I'm so very sorry for this delay and I know it's getting to be old news, but I really can't help myself. I don't have the time to do anything regularly lately and it's pissing me off, too, but there's nothing I can do about it. Let's just say that this year definitely isn't my year and that I hope that it's going to get better in the last few months of it. **

**At the moment, I'm also trying to get a piece done for a writing contest over here in Germany and it's not easy, that I can tell you. Especially since the dead line I've got to meet is Friday, the 31****st**** of July and that's in three days… making it hard to not fret over my text, because it isn't finished yet. Nevertheless, I believed you deserve this chapter, so here I am, giving it to you. **

**It's dedicated once again to my two best friends on here: Kristyna and Nicole (I hope you're having fun over there in India). Thanks so much to you two for putting up with me even now. You both know what happened and I'm so very sorry I stopped writing to you, but I'll take it up again as soon as possible. **

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterp****rises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. ****This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. ****Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Amber's eyes widened. Nobody had ever had the guts to say something like that. And she wasn't going to let it go by without doing anything. You could nearly see the wheels of her brain working as she racked her head for an idea. Then a smile went over her face._

"_Well, let's say… A contest! A contest between cheerleading and dancing. And the prize for winning is … Troy Bolton!"_

Fourth chapter - … comes around

After that announcement, the entire gym fell silent. The girls, that had been cheering only a few moments ago, now let their mouths drop, not believing what they had heard. And the girls that had been standing behind Amber now had satisfied smirks playing in their faces. How was Gabriella going to talk herself out of that one?

At this particular moment it seemed like she didn't even want to try. Opening her mouth and then closing it again, she seemed to be at a loss of words. And she really was. Not that she didn't know how to answer, but she still was searching for the right way to express her anger.

She couldn't believe that Amber could have possibly made such a suggestion. A contest! Okay, maybe that wasn't the worst idea to solve their personal fight, but putting Troy as the prize? Amber had to have lost her mind. It wasn't possibly – and in Gabriella's opinion even shocking – to put a person as a prize.

"Are you nuts?", she finally exclaimed. "You can't just bet on a person! And you can't just put him as a prize without asking him! Last time I checked Bolton was still a person with a free will and his own opinion – though I don't doubt that he hasn't got it anymore if he's really asked you out."

She looked back at Sharpay and Taylor, who nodded appreciating. They, too, couldn't believe what Amber had suggested. And Becky just stood there, eyes wide open and full of disbelieve. Gabriella swallowed hard as she turned to Amber again, awaiting her reply. And it came. But Gabriella didn't like it.

„Ha! You're just afraid that you'll loose! That you'll have to give up any hope of getting him back!", Amber taunted. "Because you're a coward!" There were many agreements from the girls behind Amber, the cheerleaders and those who had come in hope to make their squad. Gabriella threw a helpless look towards her best friends.

There was no way she could back out of this. If she did she theoretically would give Amber the satisfaction of being right. She would admit that she was a coward. And there was no way Gabriella was letting Amber walk all over her.

"Alright! A contest, let's do that! Next Friday at halftime of the first baseball game. And whoever looses admits that the other squad is the better one!" Amber smirked. "Oh no, not just that! Whoever looses gives up any chances with Troy. Whoever wins gets a date with him!"

Gabriella looked at her unbelieving. "Are you nuts? Do you want to torture me for winning? And even if I were okay with that, you can't just ordain about Troy's life. What if he doesn't want to go on a date?"

Again Amber was smirking. "You mean you're afraid that he doesn't want to go on a date with you!" That was the point where Gabriella couldn't take it anymore. "Fine!", she shouted angry. "Whoever wins goes on a date with Troy Bolton! But you're the one to tell him, alright?"

Satisfied, Amber nodded. "With pleasure!", she gave back and turned on her heal to leave the gym. Slamming the door behind her, she didn't care about the girls wanting to follow her, so the first one of them, Amber's best friend Sarah, got it directly on her nose. A loud howl echoed through the gym and Gabriella would have laughed if the realisation of what she had done hadn't just set in.

Speechless, her eyes shot open and she whirled around to see a very shocked-looking Taylor and an equally shocked-looking Sharpay. "I didn't, did I?", she asked, fearing the worst. But it didn't seem as if her friends were in the state to speak. But Becky was. "Oh yeah, you did!"

***

Gabriella was sitting alone in a discarded class room Troy had once shown to her. She didn't have to worry about him coming here, knowing that he had a basketball practice. Otherwise she wouldn't have dared to set foot in it. To be honest, she hadn't since their break-up and she had just discovered that she had missed it, without knowing it.

Gabriella sighed and thought once again about what had happened after Amber had left the gym at lunch time. She knew that she shouldn't have given into her temper, but what had happened had happened and backing out was not an option. At least not for Gabriella, though Taylor had tried to change her mind about that.

All she could do now was to think about the best choreography she had ever made up, because she knew she would need something really special to win the contest. She wasn't fond of Amber and the cheerleading squad, but she wasn't dumb either. Though all despising, she knew that the cheerleading squad was good, too good in Gabriella's opinion if she thought about the contest.

She would be happy about that – it did mean, after all, that she wouldn't have to go out with Troy if she didn't win – if there wasn't the little thing called pride. And Gabriella's pride was all for winning that contest and blowing Amber from her seat as East High's princess. And even if she won – cancelling the date afterwards was a more than inviting option to get out of that one. Amber surely wouldn't complain about her not going out with him.

And the very thought of breaking Troy and Amber up – if they were a couple against all odds – was a very satisfying thought in Gabriella's mind. Not that she was just as vengeful as Amber, but still – the thought brought a smile to her face. Why? She didn't really know.

***

Troy was sitting in the library, because he had figured that there wouldn't be much time for homework if he had to spend the afternoon in detention. So he had decided on doing them now in his free time. Which meant he had skipped geography lesson to hide himself away in the library and finish his German translation that was due to tomorrow.

But the peace and calmness of the library was once again interrupted by loud noises and the banging of doors. Unwillingly looking up from his paper, Troy watched Chad, Zeke and Jason storm in, their faces unnaturally red and their breath irregularly. They looked around the room, as if searching for a certain book – although Troy was sure that they never in their lives had even taken a book in their hands if they weren't forced to do so.

He rolled his eyes, as they finally spotted him one of the darker corners of the room, and shut his books closed, sensing that he wouldn't have any more time to study and finishing his work. And he was right. Not because his friends would take long of his attention, but because he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his work after working out what he was about to hear.

"Troy! There you are!", Chad shouted, sounding relieved. Troy groaned. His best mate would never learn. To his luck, Mrs. Donovan seemed to be away or have gone deaf, because she didn't appear from behind the next book shelf. Hurrying over to Troy's table, his friends exchanged worried looks, trying to figure how Troy would react to their news they were about to break to him.

They really didn't know what he'd do about that and they had no whatsoever intentions on getting on his bad side for bringing such news. Standing in front of him, all of them nervously chewed their lips, eyeing him up and down, trying to find out in which mood he was in.

Chad, being calmed down by the fact that Troy seemed to be relaxed for once – which meant no encounter with Gabriella in the last two hours -, finally opened his mouth, at a time to which Troy hadn't expected from any of them to open their mouth any time soon.

"Uhh, did you already hear the news?" Chad anxiously got out, before letting himself fall into the seat next to Troy. Elated by his example, Zeke and Jason got themselves seated, too. Troy cocked an eyebrow. There was news? This was going to be interesting.

Not even awaiting his answer, Chad had already continued. "I suppose not, otherwise you wouldn't sit here like that." Now it was Troy's turn to get suspicious. That wasn't bad news that Chad was going to tell him about, was it? Because bad news was something he absolutely didn't need at the moment.

"You'll never guess what Gabriella and Amber have done!" Troy's heart leapt. Gabriella and Amber? Doing something? Not together, would they? As long as he knew the two hated each other! Which was mainly the reason why he had made Amber to his weekly making-out partner. And as far as Troy was concerned that wouldn't bring Amber on Gabriella's top-ten-list.

He was brought back from his thinking as he heard Chad speaking again. "They actually have agreed on a contest! And you won't guess what they've set as the prize!" To be honest, Troy didn't have any intentions on guessing. And so he didn't even try to. Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up and gathered his things. Sure, a contest between East High's queen and East High's princess would be very interesting and he'd definitely like seeing Gabriella getting crashed in it, but other than that, he wasn't very interested.

That, however, changed the instant Chad revealed what they were on about. "Whoever wins gets a date with you. And if Amber looses, she dumps you." Chad sniggered. "I bet she wasn't happy about that one!" Troy's head shot up and met Chad's shocked gaze. Not awaiting such a reaction, Chad had just blabbed it all out, without thinking about what effect it could have on Troy.

In Troy's head, all kind of thoughts were thrown together and a wave of feelings washed right through him. Anger. How could they dare to set him as the prize? Last time he'd checked he had been a very living person with own feelings and rights, thank you very much. So it theoretically should be his decision with whom he went on a date, shouldn't it?

Confusion. Gabriella hated him and vice versa. There surely was no way she'd agreed to set a date with him as a prize. Where was the point in that? It would be more of a punishment for her than anything else. And why the hell would Amber _dump _him? They weren't going out or anything, all they were was two teenagers that had an agreement that they liked to kiss each other. At least he had always thought that.

And not only him, as Chad proved this moment. "What the hell, dude! You asked _Amber _to be your girlfriend? I thought you had better taste, mate!", he said head-shaking, looking at Troy accusingly. "After all, that chick is known for being easy, if you understand what I mean!" Zeke and Jason nodded their heads in agreement.

Of course Troy did. He wasn't dumb and he had known that before Chad; it was that Amber was easy why he had chosen her for this week. After he ended things with her, she surely would just move on and not complain for two months or more about him "letting her down" or something like that.

But asking her to be his _girlfriend_? Troy shuddered at the very thought of it. No way! "Are you nuts, guys? I never did ask her to be my girlfriend! We just have … an agreement if you want to call it that way." Chad grinned. He knew the sorts of "agreements" Troy had. But he was relieved nevertheless that Amber wasn't his best mate's girlfriend. Not only that it would have meant to be nice to her, …

… but Chad was sure that Gabriella, if she ever forgave Troy for whatever he had done, would never forgive him going out with her worst enemy. And what that would mean… Chad preferred not to think about that one. "Very good, Troy! You know", he leaned in, so only Troy could hear his next sentence, "Taylor told me that part of the reason why Gabriella agreed to the contest was the news about you going out with Amber."

Troy, having wanted to leave the library with his friends only a few seconds ago, froze dead in his tracks. That was something that wasn't possible. Chad had to be joking, wanting to kid him… But whatever it was, Troy was sure that he was lying.

***

_The door banged open. __Troy froze. Turning around very, very slowly he came face to face with Gabriella. A very shocked Gabriella. Starring at him and what was behind him, her eyes went big and immediately filled with tears. Troy raised his hand to grab for her arm, to make her stay and let him explain, but Gabriella wasn't having it._

_Casting one last look at him, eyes filled with hurt and anger, she whirled around and made a run out of his house. __Troy shot one fired look at the person standing behind him and started to sprint after his girlfriend. There was no way he would let her go the way she intended to._

"_Gabriella!", he shouted, already out of his house, seeing her running down the street, face in her hands. He knew she was crying, he knew how much she was hurt, because he felt the same pain burning inside him. "Gabriella!" Using all his strength, he managed to get directly behind her, to grab her arm and swing her around, so she was facing him._

_Struggling, __Gabriella did all in her power to break free from his grasp, but he was way stronger than her. Holding his dead-pan grip around her elbow, he fought to make her stand still, to listen to him, but there was no way the crying brunette was doing that._

"_Let go of me, __Troy!", she demanded, tears freely running down her cheeks, her voice breaking, but still filled with venom and loathing. "Let me go! I want to never see you again! Search for another girl you can fool, for all I care even Amber or that other bitch, but I'll never care again, I swear!"_

***

Troy shook his head. No, she would never care, if it was a lie or not, she would never care. Taylor had to have misunderstood something, or Chad hadn't listened properly – not that he ever did -, but Gabriella had sworn that time back then that she would never care. And Gabriella wasn't one to break any oath she had ever vowed.

But what if… his heart leapt. There was a small chance – a chance so little that he nearly didn't dared to think about it – that they hadn't misinterpreted Gabriella's actions. And that would mean… that would mean… What the hell would that mean?

***

Gabriella was late. And she definitely didn't like that. Especially since she was on her way to dancing practice. The first one since she had agreed to that stupid proposal Amber had made. And she still didn't know what her squad members were thinking about it. What if none of them wanted to take part in that? Amber's cheerleader sure stood behind Amber, and none of them would let the opportunity to humiliate Gabriella go by without grabbing it and making the best out of it.

So there was no other hope for Gabriella than that the dancing members were loyal to her head and would do all that was possible to back her up. Entering the gym, she flinched noticeable as all eyes were being directed at her and an unusual silence came up. Never had she seen the faces of her friends and acquaintances that serious.

Letting her gaze fly over the girls sitting on the floor, she unsurely made her way to the front where Taylor and Sharpay were already waiting for her. She cast them a worried look, but Taylor just smiled at her, while Sharpay shrugged her shoulders. "You're lucky, captain. They all want to participate in that stupid contest.", she answered Gabriella's unspoken question.

A wave of relief washed over Gabriella. Turning to the squad, she smiled brightly and interrogated: "You really want to help me? No one there that thinks this is stupid?" She received shocked looks from her squad. "Thinking that crushing Amber fair and square is stupid? You won't find anybody here with such an attitude. And if she's really dating Troy, then it just gives it that extra something!"

Gabriella broke into a laugh. Of course it had been Becky that had stood up and said that. The girl really was beginning to save herself a spot in Gabriella's heart. "Thanks, Becky!" The younger girl rolled her eyes. "Please, not always my full name. That's nerve-racking! Just call me Bee." Sharpay nudged Gabriella's side. "I like her."

"Mmh, I too, trust me." She turned to Becky and the rest of the squad. "Okay then, but I request that you all call me Gaby in return, alright?" Her answer was a row of agreeing murmurs.

Smiling happily, Gabriella clapped her hands and shouted cheerfully: "Okay then, let's get this started. We need to practice a lot if we want to beat Amber and we need a breath-taking choreography for that." Taylor's eyes went big.

"Gaby, we don't have time for making up a new choreography. We still need to learn one and practice it. That alone will take one week at last, if not more! Making up a new one is impossible! It's nothing you can make out of thin air."

Gabriella swallowed hard as she realised the truth in that. "Shit!", she began to panic. "What do we do now?" Becky, getting the problem, tried to help. "Any old ones we could do?", she asked hopefully, but was cut by Sharpay, who shook her head. "None of them is going to be good enough to beat Amber. We need something really breath-taking, otherwise Amber will win. If she is dating Troy, then she'll have lost of girls behind her back."

Gabriella nodded, as she remembered how it had been when she had been dating Troy. Girls she hadn't even known had taken to greet her in the hallways, and not because they liked her or the fact that she was the reason he was off the market. They just had been trying to come to good terms with her to be nearer to Troy, East High's golden boy. If Amber had told the truth, then those girls would now try to get on her good side. And that meant they'd vote for Amber at the baseball game.

Unless the dancing squad had such a good choreography that it was nearly impossible to vote for the cheerleading squad. Throwing helpless looks at her squad, Gabriella's thoughts were racing through her head, trying to find a solution. "Anybody else with a suggestion?"

She peered at Sharpay, who had gotten a thoughtful look on her face. There the blonde's face lit up. Gabriella's heart jumped. Maybe Shar had a good solution? Well, she definitely had one, but in Gabriella's opinion if wasn't unconditional good.

"How about that routine you've made up with…", she broke up, not knowing if she should actually say it. But it was too late; Gabriella already knew what she was talking about. She could feel a pang in her heart as she thought about Sharpay's suggestion. Never since she had ended things with Troy had she thought about that choreography, never again had she danced it. And now use it in a competition whose prize was Troy? That felt just wrong.

Especially since it meant so much to her. That routine wasn't just only a step arrangement, it was the choreography she had danced with Troy in a not entirely serious dancing competition, as her former dancing partner had broken his leg and was unable to participate. Sensing it meant much to her, Troy had volunteered and after initial doubts Gabriella had taken him up on his offer.

It had been the best decision she had ever made. Being strong enough to lift Gabriella up, they had come up with the greatest choreography Gabriella had ever made. It included some difficult lifting figures, some of them very spectacular. It had been to that time that Gabriella had discovered that she loved Troy. After all, she trusted him enough to do those lifting figures with him.

And that was it what held her now back from agreeing to that composition. "No way! That would definitely not be right. And I really don't want to!", she negated energetically. Taylor and Sharpay looked at each other disappointed. They had hoped that Gabriella would be over that by now. The rest of the squad followed the little exchange with open curiosity.

Taylor took one step forward and grabbed Gabriella's hand. "Gaby! Theoretically we don't have a choice! I've seen you two doing that dance and it was mind-blowing. You didn't win the first prize for nothing! It is perfect for competitions! And we could just leave those lifting figures out. It still would be perfect! And it would have the undeniable advantage that we wouldn't humiliate ourselves in front of the school by loosing against Amber!"

Gabriella shut her eyes. Of course she knew that it would be the perfect dance. But somehow something in her was demonstrating heavily against that thought. And she would really like it to give into that feeling.

She opened her eyes again and let her gaze sway over her squad. Seeing all the hopeful looks directed at her and getting an image of Amber grinning viciously in her head, she finally saw that she was fighting a lost battle. Who was she kidding? They had no other choice. Unless a wonder would happen just in time. But somehow Gabriella really doubted that.

***

After Gabriella had dismissed her squad members, she strolled out of the gym and back into school. Periods had already finished, but she still had a detention to attend to, though she could really care less about that. Being occupied with her own thoughts, she carelessly ascended the stairs, directing to the library.

She hadn't set the choreography as their contest entry in the end, but she had promised to think about it, though she already knew that she'd have to agree in the end. A thought that didn't make her happy and she already feared what Troy would be like if he heard the song, belonging to the composition, being played at the contest and if he saw her and the squad doing the steps he had partially thought up.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see where she was going. "Oww!" The pain was growing and she rubbed her forehead that had bumped against something very hard. Glaring, she looked up, only to find herself starring into the face of Troy Bolton. Groaning inwardly, her mouth fell open. That was the last thing she needed right now: Having another row with East High's golden boy wasn't standing very high on her priority list right now.

"Watch yourself!", he hissed in her direction, not even acknowledging her. That brought her blood boiling. How dared he think he was the only one not having to watch their way? It certainly wasn't her fault alone that they had bumped into each other.

"Watch your mouth, Bolton!", she advised him fiery, glaring up at him. Hearing her voice, Troy finally made the effort to properly look at whoever was standing in front of him. "Montez! What are you doing here?" Gabriella was shocked. She really didn't intend on letting him now she had been given a detention.

But she didn't need to tell him, he already had caught on. "Oh no, dear Lord, don't say we've got detention together!" She starred at him unbelieving. He had gotten a detention, too? From Mrs. Donovan? Dear Lord! She groaned audible and replied: "Don't you dare thinking I'm gonna enjoy this!" Troy just shook his head resigned. So he actually had detention with Gabriella.

Which was going to give him an opportunity to talk to her about that contest. He hadn't met Amber for the whole time of school that was left since he had been informed about the girls' agreement – which he actually was thankful for -, and so he didn't know all about it. And he really wanted to know what exactly they had put as a prize. And more important, he'd like to know why the hell Gabriella had agreed to something like that.

However, he didn't have the time to ask her, because Mrs. Donovan poked her head out of the library and said impatiently: "What are you waiting for? Please, come in, we've got a lot of work to do!" Troy and Gabriella both groaned simultaneously and looked at each other surprised. Both of them were tempted to laugh, until they realised that they weren't a couple anymore and not even friends, but sworn enemies.

Gabriella blushed, while Troy was looking away embarrassed. Not even daring to peek at each other, the both entered the library at once and shivered as their hands met for a short moment. But they didn't have time to even think about that, seeing as Mrs. Donovan was already swamping them with work.

Half an hour later, Troy and Gabriella were at their last point on Mrs. Donovan's to-do-list. They had to place borrowed books that had been given back to their original place and until now both of them had worked in complete silence.

The calmness, however, was interrupted, as Troy hemmed. Gabriella looked up, startled, as she had them expected to finish their task and leave school without having another conversation. Troy, however, didn't seem to plan on that.

"So, what about that contest?", he asked in a - what he thought sounded like a – casual tone. Gabriella's head jerked up and her stomach jolted with unpleasant surprise. He had already heard about that. Though, she assumed, she shouldn't be surprised – East High was known for the fast travelling of news and gossip.

"What about it?", Gabriella replied, determined not to talk too much about that topic. Especially since she still hadn't worked out why she had agreed so quickly. Troy snorted. She knew very well what he wanted to know, but he had already figured that she'd be touchy about that topic.

"Why the hell have you two come to such an idea? And putting me as the prize. I'm flattered that you both want me so badly, but last time I checked I was an independent person with a free will. So what if I don't want to go on a date with the winner?"

Gabriella's stomach ached and her heart sank to her knees, but she still managed to shrug casually. "Ask your _girlfriend _about that one, I wasn't the one to make it up." Troy opened his mouth, ready to explain that Amber wasn't his girlfriend, but then concentrated in the more important things. "But you still agreed to it!", he accused her, eyeing her up and down, enjoying that she squirmed under his intense gaze.

"Does that mean you'd like to go out with me? You actually want to? And you're trying to get that trough a contest? Low, Montez, low!", he teased her, but he didn't smile. He wanted to know why she had done it. It was important to him.

Gabriella's answer though was just what he had expected. Not believing he would tease her about such a thing, she grew red with anger, so Troy could see that she was fuming. Still he didn't stop and put a cocky grin on his face: "What? Speechless because I guessed right?" That was the last straw for the petit girl in front of him.

"I'd never even be thinking about going out with such a dickhead like you! Don't think I was going to take her or you up on that date! I'm already thinking about how to cancel that!" She wanted to scream, but caught herself in time, as she didn't want detention in the library for the whole next month. But that didn't detain her from glaring at her with the fieriest look she had ever thrown at someone.

Troy was impressed. So she had agreed to the contest to shut Amber up, not to go out with him. But that didn't impede him from getting angry with her for calling him dickhead. Starring at her in all her anger and sensing that she was stressed out, all he could think about was pressing his lips against hers, taking his own anger out by kissing her hard and rough.

Troy shook his head as he became aware of his own thoughts. Where the hell had that come from? He hated her; the last thing he should be thinking about was kissing her. Too bad, that his heart wasn't following his mind in this one. Barely able to contain himself, his hand shook as he just turned around to place the last book, not showing that it had hurt him what she had just said.

"Well, then you'll just have to see to loosing the contest, won't you? That shouldn't be that hard, seeing as you're not that good at dancing." These words hit Gabriella like a slap in the face. Dancing was practically all she lived for – since she had blown Troy off anyways – and saying that she wasn't good at it was a plain lie. Not that she was flattering herself over that, but she still knew that she was good at dancing.

And she wasn't the only one to know that. Knowing that Troy had said it to piss her off, she tried to calm herself down, but that didn't work properly. "You know that's not true!", she seethed, watching him carefully to not miss one piece of his reaction. "At least you didn't complain about that when we danced to "Why it's gotta be you"."

She wasn't disappointed by his reaction. He flinched visibly and she saw how he squeezed his eyes tight shut, not believing that she had brought _that _up. That was definitely something he had wanted to forget. And he had been fairly successful, too. Until now.

Turning around again, he managed to get a smirk on his face, but Gabriella could tell that it was faked. To be honest, it was the fakest grin she had ever seen. Triumphantly she smiled evilly at him, before turning around and attempting to walk away. Troy, not wanting to be left as the loser of this one, tried to think of a come-back and like a bat out of hell grabbed Gabriella's arm to whirl her around again.

Surprised, she had to hold onto him to not fall to the ground. As she had steadied herself again, he already had made a few steps forward and stood now one centimetre away from her. Gabriella's breath was hitched in her throat. They hadn't been that near since that one fateful evening in Sophomore Year. And she didn't know what Troy was up to.

Unsurely she looked up at him, unable to free herself. She couldn't even move, nor could she say something. Her heart began to beat rapidly, and she would've sworn that it had missed one beat, as Troy leaned forward, only to miss her lips by millimetres and whisper into her ear: "Admit it, Montez. You hate that you love me. You're the one asking herself why it's gotta be me you've fallen for. And you just thought I would kiss you. And you liked the thought, didn't you?"

Gabriella was speechless. He actually dared to say something like that? Not admitting to herself that her heart _had _nearly whished for him to kiss her, she eventually found the strength to struggle free from his grasp and yell at his face: "Are you as dump as you just let me assume or do you just act like that? One and for all, I don't love you. And I certainly didn't whish for you to kiss me. I wouldn't want to puke now, would I? I loath you, just in case you've forgotten!"

Steaming, Gabriella once again turned on her heel and stormed out of the library. Troy wasn't to know what was coming to him, but whatever it was – it definitely wasn't going to be a walk in the park. It was exactly this moment that Gabriella decided on using "their" old choreography for the contest. After all, the contest practically was about Troy. And if their relationship had ever meant something real to him, he'd be hurt beyond belief that she actually used it in a contest against his current "girlfriend".

And Gabriella intended on hurting him. On hurting him more than he had ever hurt her. Oh yeah, Troy Bolton wasn't to know what was coming to him, but it definitely wouldn't be pretty.

**So, I hope you liked this chapter… if yes, tell me why, and if not, tell me why nevertheless :) Anyways, I'm going to be gone for a few days - from the 31****st**** of July to the 9****th**** of August – because I'll be on holiday in Spain. I don't know if I'll manage to get another chapter up before I go… but maybe a few nice reviews will be able to encourage me to do it? *wink* Just a suggestion, though :)**

**Anyways, for the time being: Until then, **

**xoxo ElextrifyingChemistry**

**Lena**


	5. Running track

**Heya, guys! Surprise! So since I figured that you all were amazing in reviewing so fast and so often, I thought I could indeed give you the next chapter this early, because – well, let's face it – ten days are insanely long. I know I'll miss you, all of you and I'm so damn sorry that I won't be able to log onto FFN in Italy, because I honestly don't know where to find a computer there and if I found it, I'm sure it would ****be extremely expensive… so no way ):**

**But here it is and I hope you like it and if you feel generous in the next ten day, please leave a review? I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I get back… well, we'll see. So here you go!**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

**Claimer: Yeah, I know this is unusual, but I've got something to claim here. ****It's the song lyrics, because they are mine. All rights reserved, copyright by me. You can take the last sentence of the disclaimer and add it here if you feel like it. (P.S. I would feel honoured if you told me what you thought of the lyrics… it's not my best and as far as I am concerned they're not even that good, but hey, it fit the content)**

_Recap of last chapter:_

_Steaming, Gabriella once again turned on her heel and stormed out of the library. Troy wasn't to know what was coming to him, but whatever it was – it definitely wasn't going to be a walk in the park. It was exactly this moment that Gabriella decided on using "their" old choreography for the contest. After all, the contest practically was about Troy. And if their relationship had ever meant something real to him, he'd be hurt beyond belief that she actually used it in a contest against his current "girlfriend". _

_And Gabriella intended on hurting him. On hurting him more than he had ever hurt her. Oh yeah, Troy Bolton wasn't to know what was coming to him, but it definitely wouldn't be pretty._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

Chapter five – Running Track

The next morning, Troy woke up by hearing the rain falling on the roof of the Boltons' house. Having his room directly under it, he desperately tried to ignore it, but found he couldn't. Groaning, he threw a look to his alarm clock and groaned again. It was six o'clock in the morning. Usually he didn't get up before a quarter to seven and now? Now he had lost forty-five minutes of precious sleep.

Letting himself fall backwards in his pillows, he laid there, starring at his ceiling. Hoping sleep would overcome him, he let his thoughts flow freely. They immediately went to yesterday afternoon. After Gabriella had left him standing in the library without saying another word after her little "speech" of expressing her hatred for him, he had grinned triumphantly – just in case she would look back. That grin, however, had quickly faded, after she had vanished around the corner.

He knew that he had gone too far – lots too far, he admitted contritely. Never had he planned on accusing her of longing for him to kiss her, he knew that that was wrong. He knew much better than he actually wanted to. Sighing again, Troy turned around in his bed, so he was now starring at the wall, directly into a poster of him, grinning. Grinning like an idiot Troy found and averted his gaze.

He once again glanced at his alarm clock. A quarter past six. Dear Lord. After five long, draining minutes, he finally decided to get up. Lying in bed was no use and maybe – if he hurried up – he could get to school early and finish his German essay, on which he hadn't worked since his friends had attacked him with those shocking news.

He grabbed himself a towel and new clothes and vanished into the bathroom. A shower would certainly do well now. But then a thought struck his mind. Half-heartedly smiling, he turned around again and jogged over to the wall with the poster. With one swift motion he raised his hand up and tore the picture off. With a lot of self satisfaction, he ripped in little pieces, so the idiotic grin vanished. Nodding, he finally made his way to the bathroom again.

Ten minutes later he arrived downstairs, humming the sound of "Why it's gotta be you" – he had no idea where exactly he got the melody from and why the hell he actually hummed it - where a surprised Mrs. Bolton was already setting the table. "You're up this early?", she greeted him astonished and examined him carefully. "You don't have a new girlfriend, do you?"

Troy furrowed his eyebrows? "New girlfriend? Mum! What gives you that idea?", he shook his head furiously, although he knew very well why his mother was assuming something like that. It hadn't been unusual for him to get up this early to pick Gabriella up, so they could ride to school together. However, when that period had ended, he had been grateful for getting a little more sleep in the morning. At least, that's what he was trying to tell himself.

His mother seemed to have noticed his sudden mood swing. Eyeing her son worriedly, she cautiously asked: "You're thinking about her again, hmm?" Mrs. Bolton didn't know much about the incident two years ago, but she had made the pint that it had been Troy who had messed the relationship up and she knew that it had nearly torn her son apart.

Troy's head, which he had let hung loose, shot up. "No! Of course not! Why the hell would I?", he denied quickly – too quickly in Mrs. Bolton's opinion. He _had_ been thinking about her – and in his mother's opinion living in denial was no good and especially no use. "Maybe you do still like her?", she suggested, watching his reaction carefully. Troy shot looks like daggers at her. "That's rubbish, complete bullshit!"

Shaking his head furiously, he tried to convince his mother. Too bad that he didn't exactly know if he was only trying to convince her – or himself as well. _No, don't go there again_, he reminded himself. _You hate her, she hates you, perfect world. There's no liking her and there's certainly no liking you on her account. _And for Troy that was all he needed to know right now. Why making life more complicated if it could be as easy as that?

Throwing one look at the kitchen clock, he turned around and grabbed his car keys. "I'll be home sometime later, going out with the guys after school!", he informed, already halfway through the door, not caring about his mother shouting: "You didn't even eat something!" Outside, he noticed that it was still raining. Shrugging, he ran over to his car and jumped in. It was times like this that he was thankful that cabriolets had a pull-out-roof.

Starting his car, he drove out of the drive way and made his way to school. Driving as fast as permitted, he turned the car radio on and listened to 'What have you done' by Within Temptation. Concentrating on the road, he didn't exactly have his mind on the music. Not before he noticed the song had already ended and a new one had started playing. One he definitely didn't want to hear.

**Trying, trying, trying to deny that I love you**

**Asking myself why it's gotta be you**

**You're the man that I should pay no heed to**

**Still you capture me each time you're in the room**

**With just one wink of yours you get me to sway**

**And I know you're all too willing to obey**

**Every time I find myself up against a wall**

**I always fight to bawl**

**At the top of my voice**

**Why it's gotta be you…**

Troy groaned inwardly and tensed up at once. It was the song that he had wanted to never hear again. Not that he found it terribly; he just automatically associated it with times he wanted to forget. Times with Gabriella. As fast as he could he changed the transmitter and immediately relaxed as he heard the soft sound of 'Amazing Grace' by John Newton. Much better.

Beginning to slowly forget about 'Why it's gotta be you', he once again concentrated on the road directly in front if him and couldn't circumvent the fact that he was seeing a girl walking the street, desperately trying to catch as little of the falling rain drops as possible. And it wasn't just an ordinary girl. Getting a better look at her while driving right beside her, he caught a glimpse of her face, hidden under a rain cloak. It was Gabriella.

Shocked, Troy nearly oversaw the car, coming round the corner at top speed. Just in time, he managed to brake before he crashed right into the up-coming car. Due to the rain on the street, the brakes made a horrible squeaking noise as the car was stopped that quickly. Recovering quickly – after all, nothing serious had happened -, Troy didn't make an attempt to start his car again, he stayed where he was, having a terrified Gabriella looking at him.

"What?", he asked confused, as she continued starring at him with her mouth wide open. "Never seen a braking car?" He really couldn't explain to himself why she was looking so stunned. That seemed to bring Gabriella's ability to get a word out back. "Are you seriously ill? You can't just pay no attention like you just did!" She pointed to the spot where the other car had disappeared from only a few moments ago. "Do you know what could've happened?"

To speak the truth, Troy didn't exactly know and he frankly didn't care. "But the point is: Nothing actually happened!", he defended himself in a lame try. Gabriella only snorted. "Whatever!" Both of them seemed to have forgotten the rain, which was still dropping down on Gabriella and into Troy's car – he had opened the window to be able to speak with her.

"Anyways, why the hell weren't you paying attention?", she demanded to know, placing her hands on her hips. Troy blinked. "Just wondering why you were walking to school in this weather, while you have your own car?" Gabriella swallowed. That was a question she had asked herself the whole way and always got the same answer from herself. "Because my car broke and nobody lives near enough to pick me up.", she answered, slightly blushing as she thought about Troy living near enough to her.

Knowing why she blushed, Troy conjured a smirk on his face. "You don't say! No one's living near enough?" Gabriella, noticing the smirk on his face, already began to get angry. Great! She hadn't even started school and Troy Bolton had already managed to piss her off. What a great thing to start a day, which anyhow promised to get worse every minute.

Fake-smirking, she replied casually: "Well, at least no one I'd like to be sitting in a car with." Troy just pouted falsely. "Ouch, that hurts, Montez!", he answered, not being able to hide the grin coming to his face. "But – enough of the chatting, I've got somewhere to be, so if you'll excuse me?" With one final smirk in her direction, he started the engine off again and drove away, leaving behind a soaking wet Gabriella, who was as angry that it was a wonder the heat, developing according to that, didn't dry her off.

*

Fifteen minutes later, Troy already sat in the library. He had arrived ten minutes ago and had immediately made his way there, feeling the pressure of having to hand in the paper in exactly three hours, of which two of them were filled with periods. But once again his concentration was interrupted. Only this time it weren't Chad, Zeke and Jason with news about Gabriella; no, this time it was Gabriella herself. And to Troy's biggest surprise she seemed to be halfway dry.

His explanation entered the room only a few seconds later. Chris Bell, laughing and smiling, followed Gabriella to her favourite spot in the library – a little desk in the corner of the room. To Troy's luck he had taken care of that he didn't position himself on that table. Otherwise, he was sure of it, he would be in for a few very spiteful comments on her behalf. Laughing at her, because she was getting wet in the rain, wasn't exactly one thing to get on Gabriella's good side.

But Gabriella obviously seemed to have forgotten about that, seeing as she was giggling over something Chris had just said. That didn't precisely look like she was still pissed off. But Troy didn't bet on that; if he had learned one thing in the time of hate between them then it was the fact that you could never know with her. For all he knew, she could be beaming the one moment, the next she was already on 180 and screaming at him, because of something stupid he had done. Or she had supposed he had done.

And he was right. The instant Gabriella had spotted him on the table, she stopped giggling. Chris crunched his nose, obviously bewildered what he had done to make Gabriella pissed. But as long as Troy could see from across the room, she gave Chris a reassuring smile, before smiling mysteriously and putting her arm around his midst. Chris laid one arm around her shoulder and together they strolled over to where Troy was sitting.

If Troy hadn't known better, he would have bet anything that they were a couple, but he knew that they already had tried and that it had failed. Which gave him a little bit of satisfaction, not to say a big one. Trying to make a relaxed facial expression, he put his pencil down and leaned back into his chair, half suspicious, half exited about what was to come.

But he was in for a big surprise. "Hey!", Gabriella greeted him, actually friendly. Troy didn't trust his own ears. She hadn't been friendly to him just then, had she? But he had been right, not heard wrong or anything. There she was standing in front of him, smiling friendly, but he couldn't make out if it was faked or sincere.

"Hey?", he more asked than said back and nervously skidded forth and back in his chair. Gabriella let herself grin viciously, not for Troy to see, of course, and prepared to ask her next question. She intended on making him uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, and it definitely seemed to work. "What are you doing?"

That question threw Troy nearly over the edge. This wasn't happening. He was still dreaming and he'd wake up every moment, laughing about his stupidity to dream something like this. As nothing happened about the waking up part, he pinched himself, making sure it really wasn't a dream.

The girl in front of him grinned smugly. "This isn't a dream, Bolton, and you won't wake up. You already did and now you're sitting in the school's library, we're standing in front of you", she indicated to herself and Chris, who was grinning at the game she was playing, "and you did laugh at me for having to walk to school in that rain", for one moment the fire playing in her eyes was noticeably visible, "and yes, I'm very angry with you." With those words, her expression had already changed back to the friendly one she had been showing of for the past minutes.

Troy stood up, so he was towering above her, but she didn't seem impressed. He didn't know what she was on about and he was absolutely ominous what she had in mind. When was she planning on getting her anger towards him out? He was about to get his answer. "But Chris here was so nice to pick me up after you left me standing there." For Troy that was sounding like she was angry because he hadn't taken her along with him.

"Hey, who was the one saying that she didn't want to sit in a car with me? Certainly not me!", he defended himself and asked himself the instant the word came out of his mouth why the hell he actually _was _defending himself. For all he knew it was her problem, not his. What he didn't know was that it was about to became his.

"And who's the reason I didn't want to?", Gabriella retorted calmly, surprised with herself. And Troy wasn't less astonished. Since when had it become a habit of them to bring Sophomore Year up in their fights? He didn't know and once again he didn't care. So he just snapped: "Blaming me again? Typical of you, Montez, really! How am I to blame for how you are feeling towards me? That's your hormones if I'm not mistaken!"

Gabriella nearly chocked the air she was breathing in. "My hormones? Well, if I recall correctly it was _your _hormones that brought our relationship to downfall! So I beg your pardon, but it obviously you who's provided for me not wanting to be around you!" Her blood was boiling, but she wangled nevertheless to stay calm.

Troy couldn't believe it. "Why are you bringing that up now? There's really no reason!" Breathing in deeply, Gabriella contained herself. _Thing about why you are doing this. Don't let him piss _you _off. _"Playing dump now, are we, Bolton? Don't act like you don't understand. Or can't you cope with your blameworthiness? Is that the reason you're denying? Tell you what, that's not going to help." Troy nearly fell over, as he heard her speak so cockily. Until now he had believed that nobody could get even with him in that territory, but now he had to notice that his ex-girlfriend hadn't just got even, she had beaten him.

And he didn't like that, nor could he stand it. "Montez, I don't hit girls, but you are really pushing my morals!", he threatened, not even beginning to believe that she wouldn't look right through his words. And of course she did. A smirk formed itself on her face. "I know, Bolton. You only hit _on_ girls, right?" Troy flinched and took a few steps back, so he had her in full view. Since when did she turn the tables? But anyways, he didn't really have the nerve to continue with this conversation.

He had enough for good. "Haven't you got anything better to do than pissing me off?", he finally exclaimed, not caring to keep his voice down low. He had expected Gabriella to retort, but to his greatest surprise she stayed calm, having an evil grin playing in her face. And Christopher was laughing quietly. They both looked like they had just fulfilled their mission. And they had indeed, Troy noticed, seeing and angry-looking Mrs. Donovan appearing at the table.

Starring at him with narrowed eyes, she pointed accusingly at him: "Mr. Bolton! I suppose, you'll never learn to respect the calmness of a library, will you now? Detention this afternoon after school!" Troy's mouth fell open, as he realised he had been tricked by Gabriella and Chris. Glaring at them while watching Mrs. Donovan disappear again, he threatened – making sure to whisper for he didn't want detention for a whole week – the girl: "You're going to pay for that, Montez!"

His low voice sent shivers down Gabriella's spine, but she still managed to look unaffected. "Payback's a bitch, Bolton!", she spat out, still holding the smile on her face. Troy snorted. "Payback for what? For laughing about you? Or for not taking you along?" Now it was Gabriella who snorted. "I thought I made pretty clear that I don't want to be near you within three metres at least between us." Troy nearly laughed, but could restrain himself from doing so in time to come back with: "Then what's this, Montez? You're standing – let's see – not even _one _metre away from me!"

Gabriella opened her mouth to give a sharp reply, as Chris, who had been standing speechless for the past few minutes, cut in: "Uhh, okay, guys. I see you've got a lot to work out, so I better leave. See you later, Gaby!" He gave Gabriella a kiss on the cheek, nodded shortly in Troy's direction – "Troy" – and turned around to exit the library, but Gabriella grabbed his arm. Shooting one last glare at Troy, she shook her head. "I'm coming with you, we're finished here."

Turning on her heel, she swept out of the room, feeling satisfied. Revenge was sweet and Troy Bolton definitely deserved what he had gotten. The detention, in this case. Smiling at Chris, who had followed her out, she had only one thought playing in her head. Mission accomplished!

*

A few hours later in free period, Troy had decided to set another basketball practice. Having been told that the next period after free period would be cancelled, because their maths teacher was ill and there was no teacher to act in place of him, he thought that it would be good for the team to practice. After all, they wanted to be at Brighton High at the championships again this year.

So he had made sure that everyone on the team knew about practice and now they were already in the gym, ready to start playing. But, life being its usual self, there was always something to interrupt. And so it was. Troy, wanting to blow the starting whistle, never came to do it, as a bunch of giggling, laughing and chatting girls walked in, stopping dead in their tracks after seeing the basketball player.

The players, all standing in their start positions already, looked up confused, not knowing what was going on. So did the girls. Troy turned around, facing them, wondering what they were doing in here, but not for long. The group of girls split up to let their captain walk through. Seeing who it was let Troy groan loudly. Of course, who else would dare to disturb their training?

It was Gabriella Annoying Montez, Troy was directly looking at. Strutting over to him, she straightened herself and her gaze was once again fiery. Closing his eyes, Troy prepared himself for what was to come, but opened them quickly again, as he surprisingly felt one of her fingers poking into his chest. "Bolton! What the hell are you doing here with your team?!", she hissed dangerously, appearing already pissed off.

Obviously she hadn't had a very good day. But that wasn't exactly something Troy would care for, so he just lazily cocked his eyebrow. "You've got eyes, Montez! Open them and see what we are doing yourself." That obviously was the wrong answer. Troy nearly let out an "Oww!" as Gabriella increased the pressure of her finger, but could just control himself. "That wasn't what I meant, Bolton! I know you are playing basketball!" _Theoretically we're not, we're just wanting to_, shot through Troy's head, but he somehow doubted that it was the right moment to remark that.

And he wouldn't have got the time anyways, for Gabriella was already speaking again. "But what I want to know is why! I already claimed the gym yesterday; you can look it up in the list. And I also went to the principal to confirm it, so you better leave with your mates right now!" She didn't raise her voice, but her looks spoke a very strong language. And to Troy's biggest shock he once again noticed how hot she looked when she was burning with anger.

But that didn't hold him from telling her no. "You sure about that? Well, I spoke with the principal a few weeks ago and he affirmed that the basketball team could have the gym all days after school. He knows we're training to win against Brighton High and you know how high he thinks of that. So I suggest you forget the claiming and search for another place to practise for that stupid contest."

That was the first time Troy had spoken about the contest in public and as a result everyone in the gym, who had been silent for the whole time the two ex-lovers had discussed their issues, began to talk at once, everyone and everybody speculating what Troy thought of it. After all, it was his "girlfriend" and his ex-girlfriend battling and he had been set as the prize. There had been the usual rumours flying around – for example that Troy had been delighted and had already bet on Amber for winning and Gabriella for loosing - and nobody really believed anything of it, but you never knew. And now the chances were very good to hear something about it from the Golden Boy himself.

But they were to be disappointed as Gabriella purposefully avoided the subject 'contest' and countered: "Well, if he'd promised you the gym for everyday, you surely can let one day sample out, can't you? And… if I am correct this isn't afternoon. It's still morning and this is free period.", she grinned sweetly and instantaneously everyone became silent again. What would Troy answer? Surely nothing what would please Gabriella too much.

"Well, if you hadn't gotten me in detention for today's afternoon, I wouldn't be forced to hold basketball practise now. So it's theoretically your own fault that you don't get the gym!", Troy triumphantly said, grinning delightedly at his own reply. He wondered himself where he had come up with such a good answer. "And I really don't care about you claiming the gym."

He better would have. The finger she had pressed up against his chest was released, and Troy was tempted to rub over the spot where it had poked him, but he didn't get a chance as the finger was replaced by her whole fist. And this time he accidentally let it slip: "Oww! What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I wouldn't feel the need to do that if you were a little bit less cocky, alright?", Gabriella hissed in a dangerously low voice and Troy had the awful feeling that she'd come up with an even more evil plan like the last one from this morning if he'd just stay hard without compromising. And he didn't want a month of unfair detention.

Which was certainly about to happen, he observed, watching Taylor and Sharpay backing their best friend up by coming to a still stand directly behind her, fire obvious in their eyes. Elatedly by their example, everyone in the gym dared to come nearer to their captains, so they were forming a circle around them, dancers on one half, players on the other. Just Troy and Gabriella were standing in the middle, Sharpay and Taylor and the now approaching Chad and Zeke directly behind them.

It looked like two street gangs who were on the point of going off at each other, only that one of the leaders was practically spiting fire and the other one was desperately trying to find a solution without loosing his reputation. And the desperation seemed to be good for something for Troy came up with an idea. "Okay, we both want the gym, right?", he asked Gabriella. She nodded her head suspiciously, not knowing what Troy was up to.

"And nobody wants to leave, right?" Again she nodded. The members of both teams began to become anxious. What was Troy on about? They were about to get their answer. "Well then, how about a contest?" He grinned as Gabriella flinched, thinking back to the last proposal of a contest she was still regretting. "Not something like what you have in mind, Montez. Something easier. I was thinking about running track. Let's say ten round each five hundred metres and the first one finishing gets the gym."

Gasps could be heard all around the gym, only Sharpay and Taylor began to grin. It was common knowledge that Troy was one of the school's best track runner and they all were confident that he would win that bet without a doubt. All the more they were shocked as a wide smile spread across Gabriella's face and she outstretched her hand. "Deal!" Troy took it, but they both let loose as soon as he had grabbed it, nobody wanting to have longer contact than necessary.

Troy observed her carefully. She seemed convinced that she could win and he knew why. He had run track a few times with her and on his bad days she had actually managed to beat him to the finish. But the question was if she had trained further on, although they had split. It appeared to be that way, seeing as Gabriella's eyes shone with confidence.

"Well, what are we waiting for?", she happily asked him and made her way to the door with great buoyancy. Troy stood frozen in his place. He got the bad feeling that there could be a possibility of loosing this contest. And what that would mean for the basketball practise and especially for his reputation… he'd rather not think about that.

With noticeable hesitation he began to follow his ex-girlfriend outside and with him came the teams of both captains. Departing the gym, he had to blink, because the sun was shining so much it was hurtful to look in her direction. He twinkled again and then started to the direction Gabriella had gone. He found her already waiting at the ash path, looking full of expectation in his direction.

Slowly but surely Troy got the impression that she was more confident than him to win this. Not good. Meeting her halfway – she had taken to coming up to meet him, obviously he was too slow for her liking – he felt the need to wipe that self-satisfied smirk from her face, but he really didn't know how. Feeling the eyes of a good fifty boys and girls on his back, he straightened himself in a desperate try to look surer of himself as he was feeling.

"Ready to get beaten, Bolton?", he heard Gabriella scoffing at him. He opened his mouth to answer, but never got to do it, as he heard a loud and whiny voice behind him shouting: "Troooooy!" He immediately recognized it and groaned, making Gabriella laugh in the process. "What? Not pleased to see your girlfriend, Bolton?", she teased him, while cocking one eyebrow. He threw her a more than dark look. "For the last time: She's not my girlfriend!", he finally used the opportunity to tell her, though he didn't know why he felt the need to do so. By hook or by crook, it shut Gabriella up.

"Trooooy!" Amber's voice was heard again, this time sounding impatient, because Troy hadn't already turned around to greet her. Rolling his eyes, he eventually turned around, not bearing Amber's shouting any longer. However, the whole place had fallen silent, had they never seen Troy, Gabriella and Amber in the same place. Naturally they were wondering what would happen, knowing that Amber and Gabriella didn't get along.

"What?!", they surprisingly heard Troy groan bored. Whatever they had expected, it certainly wasn't that he would snarl at Amber. The latter, however, didn't seem to notice the repulse, or she over looked it on purpose. Gabriella bet on the last one. Watching interested the interaction between Troy and her worst enemy, she debated with herself about what Troy had just said. So he wasn't Amber's boyfriend. Then why had Amber lied on Monday?

Easy question, easy answer. She had wanted to make Gabriella jealous. The only question left was why had she thought it would make her jealous. After all, even someone as dumb as her knew that Troy and Gabriella weren't exactly on good terms, that Gabriella despised no one more than him and the other way round. Either way, she was pulled out of her thoughts, as Amber's reply erupted in the silence.

"Just wanted to see what you are doing outside… with that thing?", she pointed at Gabriella and before she could even say anything else, she already brought her hand to her cheek that had turned red and was stinging like hell. "What the hell…?", she screamed hysterically and everyone else was awestruck. Nobody had seen Becky creeping quietly in front of Amber, preparing to slap her in case she would say something offending towards Gabriella.

And when the word "thing" in connection with her dance captain had left Amber's mouth, Becky had done what she had wanted to. And obviously she had done it thoroughly, for Amber's cheek were redder than crimson. "Becky!" Gabriella's voice sounded hoarse and as if she didn't know what to feel: shock or genuine admiration. In the end, she decided on admiration, but tried to cover it with a look of shock. "You can't just go and slap her!", she tried desperately to take Becky to task, but the hortative undertone was missing.

As a result, the younger girl just made a half-heartedly attempt to defend herself: "What? She called you a thing, should I just let her get away with that?" Gabriella had to brace herself up to not break out in clangourous laughter. That girl was unbelievable. Sharpay came forward. "She's right, you're not offending our team captain unpunished, are we clear?", she addressed Amber, who had no other choice than nodding, since Becky's eyes were gleaming with mischief.

But the instant Becky turned around to go and stand by Gabriella, she faced Troy and pouted. "And you're just letting them walk all over me and do nothing about it?" Troy hadn't even thought about that. He didn't see why, after all what Becky had said was true. "You did call her thing, Am. It's not my business when her team members are that loyal to her." His voice appeared cold, but once again Amber didn't take notice.

"Whatever!", she declined and once again repeated her question from before: "And what are you doing out here?" Taylor was so merciful to tell her. "They are holding a contest. The one who gets to the finish first after five thousand metres of running gets the gym. And they really should get started; otherwise it's no use because our free time will be melted to nothing." Gabriella and Troy nodded to her and then to each other, agreeing to get ready.

But once again, Amber disrupted their intentions, as she said: "Wait for me, I'll run to, just to help Troy." She beamed at the people standing around her, not noticing how dumb that sounded. Troy didn't need any help, especially not for running track and especially not from Amber. The basketball captain, however, just shrugged, knowing that objecting her would cost them the whole free time left. And Gabriella really didn't care.

"Then let's just hope you don't disgrace yourself in the process", she murmured, only loud enough for Troy to hear, who couldn't help but grin. That was typical Gabriella. Always being sarcastic about things that pissed her off. Finally the three teenagers got in their starting positions, Gabriella and Troy facing each other, both with equally grim facial expressions.

There was no way of sparing one another. Both wanted to win and both were determined to do so. Within the second Troy heard the starting whistle being blown, he dashed forward, trying to leave Gabriella yet behind. Gabriella didn't care, knowing that it wouldn't help him really. That maniac speed wasn't run in long distant races; normally you took to it at short distances. So she took off in a quick, but peaceful speed, already being much quicker than Amber, who obviously had overestimated herself.

After five of the ten rounds, Gabriella was only a few feet behind Troy, who had been forced to damp his speed after three rounds. Slowly but surely, she caught up to him, both now running at the same speed. Tilting his head to the side, Troy looked at his opponent, who had one of her curls hanging loose in her face and desperately tried to blow the strand out of it, bit it wasn't working.

Driven by impulse, he reached out and plucked it out of the air, stroking it behind her ear. Shocked by his own actions, he quickly let his hand fall down to his side afterwards. But it wasn't only him who was more than surprised. Stunned by the soft feeling of his hand in her face, Gabriella nearly forget to move her feet, but caught herself in time to keep going and not stop. _What did he do? Did he do? Am I hallucinating? _Thousand of different thoughts played in her head as she looked at him in pure wonder.

Troy blushed slightly. Embarrassed, he once again increased his tempo, overtaking Amber easily in the process. For a few seconds, Gabriella didn't even realize he was no longer beside her, but then her sanity inserted again. Not wanting him to get a competitive edge, she too increased her speed and outstripped Amber, who was just in her third round. Having breathed heavily just two rounds after starting, there was no way that she could keep up with the others.

And now as Gabriella was running next to her for a few seconds, the cheerleader didn't even found the breath to say something insulting.

However, now running at an higher speed than before, Gabriella easily caught up to Troy once again, being applauded by her fellow team mates. "Go, Gaby!", she could make out Taylor's and Sharpay's voice. Smiling, she readapted Troy's speed, but stayed silent, not wanting to bring up the incident from before. That way the two of them finished nine of the given ten rounds. Amber had given up three rounds before and now they were the only ones still running.

Noticing that it was the last round, Troy looked up, covered in sweat. "Last round counts, Montez!" Gabriella nodded dogged, increasing her speed one last time. Now both trying to outrun the other, they were both surprised how much strength they could still ante up. And to the ones standing beside the path the tempo they were holding now seemed to be maniacal.

Fifty metres before the finish, Gabriella and Troy both clenched their teeth at the same time. It couldn't be that no one had gained the lead by now. But none of them could change it. Both not wanting to give up the victory, held their speed and eventually … both reached the finish at exact the same time.

For one moment ruled absolute silence. Then the storm erupted. Jubilant screams erupted from both teams and everyone was laughing their butt off. Holding this contest had been a complete waste of time.

Not to the both squabblers however. Because under normal circumstances both of them would have never done what they did now. Looking at each other and smiling a true smile while doing so for the first time in nearly two years, Troy held his hand out and suggested: "How about we call a truce for this afternoon and share the gym?"

Gabriella grabbed his hand without hesitation, her heart still racing like crazy. "Truce!", she agreed and suddenly she felt two arms surrounding her body. Tensing up, thinking it was Troy, she immediately let go of the hand she was still holding, but then noticed that it was Sharpay, who had engulfed her in a hug. "Shar!", Gabriella laughed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." She risked a short look at Troy, but the place where he had been standing was empty. Obviously he had already called his team and entered the gym again. Talk about being fast.

*

Five minutes later, Gabriella had calmed herself down. At least so much that she was able to give further instructions. "Okay, Taylor, it would be nice, if you'd call the girls. We're sharing the gym with the basketball player." Her friend nodded and Gabriella made a short detour to her locker to fetch the stereo equipment and the CD she had made extra for the rehearsals. Not once did she think about what Troy would think when he heard the song.

Little later, the girls all had positioned themselves in a circle around Gabriella and listened intently to her speaking. "Okay, girls, I'm going to show you the song first, so listen carefully and get a feeling for the beat, alright? It's important for the further steps. They all nodded and Gabriella went over to start the music.

Troy had already started the basketball game. He himself wasn't playing since he was playing the referee for the time his dad was still absent. He sent a look over to the girls and saw Gabriella going over to the radio player. Looking forward to what song she had picked, he waited for the first tact to start playing.

But he nearly got a heart attack as he heard the first beats escaping the stereo equipment Gabriella had brought. Taken by surprise, he blew the whistle and turned his complete attention to the music. There was no way he'd be able to concentrate on refereeing a game right now. He knew the song; he knew it only too well. He had it just heard this moment and he had changed the transmitter to not hear it. He couldn't believe that he'd be forced to hear it now, in full length and … played by Gabriella.

**Trying, trying, trying to deny that I love you**

**Asking myself why it's gotta be you**

**You're the man that I should pay no heed to**

**Still you capture me each time you're in the room**

**With just one wink of yours you get me to sway**

**And I know you're all too willing to obey**

**Every time I find myself up against a wall**

**I always fight to bawl**

**At the top of my voice**

**Why it's gotta be you…**

**You of all people are the one to get me down**

**You keep doing it when everyone's around**

**What's wrong with me, should have gotten over you**

**Should have taken to hate after I faced the truth**

**While I attempt to get you out of my system**

**I'm trying to listen**

**To my mind that screams**

**Why it's gotta be you (hey), why it's gotta be you**

**Who holds my heart, ready to crush it**

**The only one that's ever really gotten through**

**Just wanna let go, looks as if I can't rush it**

**My soul holds onto you**

**But why it's gotta be you**

**Who knows (I don't), this feeling shows**

**I just can't let you go**

**But why it's gotta be you**

**Now I'm deep in the mire, stuck in-between**

**I'm at a loss what to do, nowhere to lean**

**Shouldn't have counted on it to turn out all right…**

The rest was drowned out by his ears, not wanting to hear any more. She had actually chosen the dance they had made the choreography to. And there was no doubt that she intended on using the same steps. He could already imagine her trying to cut the lifting figures out and still making it an impressive dance. His blood began to boil.

He had never wanted to hear that song again. And he had never expected to have to, especially played by her. Of course, he knew that she probably knew that he'd be touchy about it and that he'd be damn angry. And it was a fact that they both tried everything to piss the other one off.

But whatever had happened between them – he would have never thought that she would use something that had been once this meaningful to them for a damn contest. And especially since she and Amber had put him as the prize.

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**Soo, what did you think? I hope you liked it, because it's gotta get you over the ten days I'm not going to be here to update… well, tell me and I'll get back to you as soon as I get back myself… **

**Right now, I've gotta get going, because I need to finish packing up my things… Dad wants to put the things in the car this evening, because we'll be gone by four o'clock tomorrow morning… can anyone tell me how the hell I'm supposed to get up that early and actually move? Thank god I'm not driving… I'll be sleeping in the car with my mp3-player to keep me company :)**

**Until then and thanks to those who wished me happy holiday, **

**xoxo ElectrifyingChemistry**

**Lena**


	6. No help in eyeshot

**Hey, people, I'm so very sorry for letting you wait this long once again, but I just didn't find the time. After I came back from my holidays in Italy (which were great, by the way, not counting the five of the ten days I was seriously sick and had to stay in bed while the others were outside in the sun), I had so much to organize for my going back to school. Finally I'm in year 11!!! Just three more years and then I'm going to be finished! That's so awesome!**

**Anyways, when I started school again two weeks ago, it was so hectic that I just couldn't find the time to immerse myself into FFN all that much, therefore no update. And then, when I had just decided to update yesterday, I had to have P.E. in school. And guess what? Yep, I've managed to get my ring finger sprained. And typing without a ring finger is kind of hard. But I guess that I'll have more time this year for my stories, considering that I don't like my current English teacher, because she doesn't demand anything from us and I'll have to see that my English doesn't rust. So, I'll more than likely throw myself into my stories on here. And perhaps I'll finally get the last chapter of FBH finished and posted. Sorry to those who are still waiting for it.**

**Now, after you've waited for so long, I won't talk on any longer than I have to: I present to you the sixth chapter of this story – No help in eyeshot. Please leave a review after you've read this chapter, it might get me to work faster on FBH and on new stories :)**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Zoe who sent a message to me a few days ago after months of no contact. You don't know how thankful I am to you for doing that. I really missed you!**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

_Recap of the last chapter:_

_The rest was drowned out by his ears, not wanting to hear any more. She had actually chosen the dance they had made the choreography to. And there was no doubt that she intended on using the same steps. He could already imagine her trying to cut the lifting figures out and still making it an impressive dance. His blood began to boil._

_He had never wanted to hear that song again. And he had never expected to have to, especially played by her. Of course, he knew that she probably knew that he'd be touchy about it and that he'd be damn angry. And it was a fact that they both tried everything to piss the other one off. _

_But whatever had happened between them – he would have never thought that she would use something that had been once this meaningful to them for a damn contest. And especially since she and Amber had put him as the prize._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

Chapter Six – No help in eyeshot

Troy still stood frozen in his place. He was feeling like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest, thrown it to the floor and stamped around on it while he was watching. He was feeling like someone had stabbed him from behind and turned the knife around, just to let him feel even more pain. He was feeling like someone had died, someone he had known very well, and like all hope was lost. To shorten it: He was feeling as if he would be crying any moment.

But that was impossible. Crying in front of the basketball team? In front of the dancing squad? In front of Gabriella? No way. And he wouldn't even have an apparent reason to name. What would he have to say? _I'm just feeling way too emotional over a song that was once one of my favourite songs and mine and Gabriella's song as we were a couple? I can't stand hearing it anymore? Why? I don't know, might just be that I actually was hurt by our break-up? That I don't like us being enemies? That I secretly wish we were back together?_

At that point his mind stopped thinking. No way! No freaking way that he had just thought that. That was crap. Of course, he didn't like them being enemies. Who the hell liked being enemies with anyone? Especially if the ones had a fairly good chance of winning nearly every fight you had with them? But that didn't mean that he'd like for them to be back together. That was more than rubbish - that was bullshit. After all, Gabriella had made more than clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.

Banning this kind of thoughts from his mind, he desperately shook his head, trying to not hear the music, but after thirty seconds he gave up. It was impossible to do so, as the music was so load, you could possibly hear it from outside the gym. "Troy?!" He raised his head, just to look directly into Chad's face, only millimetres away from his. "Woah!" Shocked, Troy jumped back, not prepared to be this near to anyone. "Chad! What the hell was that?!" Chad just shrugged and defended himself: "What? You looked like you were anything but in here, captain."

Troy swallowed hard, before gaining back his ability of speaking. "Yeah, sorry, kind of spaced out there for a moment." Chad shot him a questioning look. "For a moment? You were out of it for about two or so minutes!" That took Troy by surprise. That wasn't really possible, was it now? He had just thought about… No, no, no. Not that again.

Not wanting to explain anything further, he drifted away from the topic. "Well, anyways, let's just get this game started again, shall we?" Chad gave him a bright smile of his, not even questioning why he had stopped the game first place. "What kind of question is that, mate?" And though not really happy, Troy managed to give a little smile back. That was when he noticed that the music was out.

Curious, he turned around and watched the girls of the squad forming a circle around Gabriella, ready to hear about the steps. Troy snorted. He remembered each and every one of them and he was sure that it was impossible to leave the boy's part out. The dance would loose all of its perfection; that he was sure about. And he was right, only the girls didn't know already.

*

In the meantime, Gabriella was putting a great afford in the task to cut the lifting figures and the boy's part out. The dance playing in her mind, she couldn't help to get Troy's and her face in her head, relieving the moments they had danced together - to this song. And that didn't exactly help her with her task. "Gabriella?" Becky had taken a few steps forward and waggled her hand in front of Gabriella's face. "Still there?"

Startled, the brunette raised her head and hurried to assure that everything was perfect and she was still there. She turned around and showed some papers, having written the steps down. "We just need to leave out the lifting figures, and then everything will be perfect.", she ensured, not completely convinced herself. "You think?", Sharpay whispered to her, having come to a stand directly behind her. "Then please explain why Troy is starring over here intensely and trying not to look like he's going to kill you any minute?"

Gabriella got frightened. Damn, she hadn't thought about the fact that they were sharing the gym today. Closing her eyes, she bit her lower lip. Of course Troy would look like being ready to kill her. What had she been thinking? That he wouldn't understand it as a provocation? Why the hell hadn't she thought about that before? Casting one short look at Troy showed her that he wasn't just ready to kill her, for a minimal moment it looked like he was going to actually come over and do it.

But… why the heck? He had betrayed their relationship; he had clearly shown that he didn't care about anything that had played a role in it, so why would he care about the song? Gabriella didn't know, but it did definitely seem like he did care. And that's what confused her most. As they locked eyes, Gabriella couldn't make out anything, she just noticed that his eyes had turned a darker blue than usual. A clear sign for him being either angry or upset.

But the moment Troy noticed that he was directly starring into Gabriella's brown eyes, he turned his head away and blow the starting whistle. Not prepared for any of his actions, the whole team had gone out of their positions, which they now were trying to take in as fast as possible. As the game started, Gabriella gave up thinking about Troy's behaviour and turned around to her squad. "Okay, enough of the starring at the boys, ", she noticed Becky grin mischievously and threw her a feigned dark look, "let's get started with this choreography. Everybody in basic array and then you look at Taylor, Sharpay and me. We already know the routine and you can look how the steps have to work out in the end. Just do what you think you can perform and if you don't understand all steps, don't worry, we'll just have to work with that."

She turned to Sharpay and Taylor and told them to leave out all the lifting figures, and instead perform some of the more common steps. They nodded with smiles on their face, having already forgotten Troy's strange behaviour. Hesitating, Gabriella slowly made her way to the stereo equipment and threw a look at her former boyfriend. But she didn't need to worry: Troy seemed to be completely caught up in the game. So she just shrugged her shoulders and let the music start again, running to her own position to begin with the dancing.

*

Ten minutes later, Gabriella was feeling like she was near a nervous break-down. It was unbelievable. She had known that it was only the perfect dance with partner, but what she hadn't known was that it would be a complete mess without any boy. But that's what it was: a complete mess. The dance was nothing without boys and that would even be noticed by some complete layman.

And it had been noticed, not only by the dancing squad. Being slightly distracted by the dancing girls, a few basketball players hadn't paid attention to where they had been going. The catastrophic consequences were that about five of them had crashed into each other, falling to the ground. The penalty wasn't pretty. Three sprained ankles and one injured wrist: it was a disaster.

Enervated, Troy had blown the whistle once again and had sent them to the school's nurse, but not without lecturing them more than harshly first. Being unable to play any further, he had called practice off for this day, with the result that his team players didn't go home, but sat on the bleachers to watch the girls. Not actually feeling like doing the same, Troy had wanted to vanish into the guys' locker-room, but Chad had practically forced him to watch the girls.

And now there he was, watching Gabriella struggling with the difficulties of getting the dance going… and grinning viciously. He knew that the dance looked more than lame; sure, it still had part of its liveliness and strong movements, but it was lacking the certain spark that made it something special. And he was sure a few others had noticed it, too. At least the ones that didn't only stare at the girls' furnishing. It wasn't that hard to become aware of the fact that the girls were missing out on beats and such… it just wasn't a finished dance without boys. And Troy wasn't exactly disappointed about that.

*

Gabriella in the meantime was feeling like she was backed up against a wall. A very solid wall, indeed. And in front of her stood a very nastily grinning Amber, taunting her about the loss of the contest. Sometimes Gabriella wished she didn't have such a good imaginary. Because seeing Amber laughing about her wasn't a very pretty sight. And there was no way Gabriella was going to let that happen in reality.

"Stop!", she shouted loudly to her squad and ran over to the boxes to turn the music of. Finally having the calm of the gym back, the dance captain eventually noticed that the boys weren't playing basketball any longer, instead they were watching them. And a good five of them looked at her with a look that you could only call pitying. And one… was looking like he would break out in laughing fits any minute.

Troy! Reclusively his look was enough to throw her over the edge. Shooting him a look of poor hatred, she swirled around and stomped ostentatiously over to her girls. Taking a deep breath, she said, trying to collect herself,: "Okay, guys, I dare say that you all have noticed that this dance is the greatest catastrophe I've ever seen on a dance floor." She let her gaze glide through the gym and not only the girls were nodding, the boys that had been attentive also assented.

Gabriella nodded, sad and desperate together, not wanting to believe that it actually was that bad. "Then we've got a big, big problem.", she stated, trying to hold a calm façade upright, which went downhill, as she felt a hot breath hit her neck. Her eyes widening, Gabriella saw many of the girls looking surprised or shocked and she herself didn't feel any different with the only major difference that she didn't know who was standing behind her. But she could imagine it very well as she saw the faces of Sharpay and Taylor.

Turning around as slowly as possible, her breath nearly hitched in her throat as she found herself standing just centimetres away from Troy. His blue eyes sparkled dangerously and amused, and his mouth was warped into a big grin. Not good. Not even having the chance to brace up for the mockery that was to come, Gabriella just stood frozen in her place, starring into his hypnotizing eyes. "What the hell was that, Montez? Stork dancing? I must say: Really interesting, but maybe you should try it with a little bit more grace and less stiffness, otherwise you'll not even get the votes from the love-struck, blind boys like Brandon!"

Even though he was laughing on the inside, his voice stayed monotone, just because he knew that it would be the one thing Gabriella couldn't stand the most. She hated when someone didn't show their emotions and especially in a fight or relationship. With such things you could really piss her off. And he was right, as usual. Gabriella was already seething, was it because of the not showing his emotions or because of the mentioning of Brandon, she didn't even know herself. And she knew very well that the boy in front of her was only staying this monotone, because he knew it would anger her.

Endeavouring herself after staying calm, Gabriella agglomerated her fists, pressing through her teeth: "That's none of your business, is it now, Bolton? Just stay out of the things you don't have to care about, alright? And if you would excuse me now, I've got something better to do than standing here and arguing with you about nothing." Troy just grinned. "Oh, really?" He made three steps forward, forcing Gabriella to take four backwards. "What exactly? If you'd please explain precisely? But of course, only if you don't mind", he teased her, beginning to grin, but once again making steps forward.

Nobody else in the gym dared to move, all eyes were directed to Troy and Gabriella and the act that was developing right in front of them. It was like they were all audience in a play, of that nobody knew how the progression was and how it ended. What was only adding to the tension that was bottling up in the air. And for a while nobody, not even Troy nor Gabriella, spoke, everyone awaited what was to come, Troy still going forward, Gabriella giving way with every step backwards.

It was so silent that the brunette didn't even dare to cry out, being surprised as her back hit the wall of the gym. The plonk was loud, and Troy smiled triumphantly. Now he had her exactly where he wanted her to be. Backed up against the wall, but this time not only in his imagination, but in reality. But still he didn't stop where he was, he went further until their bodies nearly touched. Gabriella, fearing what was he up to, swallowed hard, trying to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth. Troy slowly raised his hand, as though he wanted to stroke her cheek. The whole gym breathed in, utterly stunned by their golden boy's actions.

Gabriella couldn't believe it. His hand neared her face and her mind was racing. What was he doing there? He couldn't, her certainly wouldn't… it was not possible… in no way, no case… Closing her eyes, she half waited for his hand to touch her face, half hoped that he would miss and do something else with it. There was only one thing she was sure about right now and that was that he wouldn't slap her. Troy wasn't one to slap girls. But he also wasn't one to be gentle to his ex-girlfriend.

Baamm! The bang was overly loud, since he came from directly next to her ear. Troy had slammed his hand against the wall, not once thinking about stroking or even touching Gabriella's face. He had assumed that she would believe something like that and he was satisfied that he had been right. Shrieking as his hand hit the wall, Gabriella jumped a little, hitting the wall with her head in the progress. For a short moment, concern flashed in Troy's eyes, but that was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

Instead, his other hand hit the wall also, but this time Gabriella wasn't surprised. She had known that it was coming ever since he had slammed his first hand. He had planned it from the very beginning, planned to cage her in and make her feel uncomfortable. Too bad that it was working. She did feel fractious and in a way it was shocking that he was having that affect on her. Because she didn't feel uncomfortable because he was that near, she felt uncomfortable because she knew that this was the way he had always backed her up against the wall, right before they had started a heated make-out session. And she knew that it was impossible to ever go back to those times.

Slowly, her heartbeat went back to normal speed and she dared opening her eyes again. She looked directly into his which were a mixture of amusement, cockiness and … confusion? No, that was feeblemindedness. Why would Troy be confused? Exactly, no reason. Tearing her look away from his intense gaze, she looked left and right to his hands that caged her in and then straight to Sharpay, who was standing two or three feet away. _Help me!_ Gabriella's look was speaking for itself, but Shar didn't seem to get the hint. Desperate, Gabriella let her gaze wonder over to the bleachers, where she had seen Chad only minutes ago. Only that he wasn't sitting there anymore, he and Zeke had made their way over to the girls the instant they had noticed that Troy had left his place and gone down on the basketball court.

Now he was standing near Taylor and she tried to send him a help-seeking look, but Troy already occupied her mind once again. "What's up? Have you swallowed your tongue? I asked what you had to do that is better than arguing with me." His condescending voice was too much. "Damn it, Troy, just let me go and leave me alone, are we clear?", she shouted, enervated by his persistent tries to piss her off. It was only seconds later that she realized what she had said.

She could have let loose a bomb and she wouldn't have caused more of a bombshell. The moment she had talked, the erstwhile silent gym had erupted with whispers and shrieks and everyone was starring at the dancing squad captain in shock. It had been so long, so freaking long and now they had been witnesses of something they would never have dared to even dream of.

As she had finished her sentence, Troy had let his arms fall by his side, and now he was standing completely motionless, not daring to believe what he had actually heard. She hadn't, she couldn't, she wouldn't… Yes, she had. She had called him by his first name. She had called him by his first name for the first time in nearly two years. That definitely was a wonder. If that wasn't one, Troy didn't know what was. Now the two ex-lovers were starring deeply into each other's eyes; both trying to handle what had just been said.

After two minutes, Gabriella shook her head and banged it backwards against the wall. How could she have called him by his first name? She had made a vow all those times ago that she would never do it again and from then on it had been like an unwritten norm that they called each other by their last names as a sign of their loathing. And now she hadn't danced to that tune. What did that mean? It definitely didn't mean that she didn't hate Troy anymore, but she didn't know how he would work that up.

But she also didn't _want _to know and therefore she was thankful as finally their friends intervened. With few quick steps, Taylor and Sharpay were on her side; Chad had made his way over to Troy and grabbed his arm. "Okay, guys, end of the show. Nothing to see here, please just continue walking." If it hadn't been that damn serious, Gabriella would have laughed. Chad had definitely seen to many crime thrillers. Taylor wasn't that taken with the situation, she hit Chad on the back of his head. "Owww!" the boy exclaimed, rubbing up and down with his hand. "Why do you always hit me?" His girlfriend raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't have to, if you were just a little bit more mature sometimes, Chad!"

Sharpay couldn't help but laugh. Taylor threw her a dark look. "That may seem to be funny, Shar. But just as long as you don't have to put up with him every day!" Gabriella doubted that it was the right moment to ask her why she did put up with it. After all, Troy was still standing not even one metre away. But that changed, as Chad once again pulled on Troy's sleeve and brought him to follow his lead outside the gym. Casting one last look over his shoulder, he caught sight of a very confused looking Gabriella. So she hadn't planned on calling him Troy. That made the situation a lot easier. He wouldn't have known what to do, if she had intended on doing it.

*

Two periods later, Gabriella was sitting in the library, waiting for Chris to arrive. After Troy had vanished and Gabriella had managed to get a little bit more calmness into her squad and the remaining basketball players – which hadn't been a walk in the park -, the dancing squad had decided that it was useless to dance the choreography without boys and that there wasn't enough time left to make up a new one. So they had deliberated about what to do and finally decided on asking the baseball team for help.

It was common knowledge that the dependant members of the team were strong and well-trained and that they definitely would be strong enough to do the lifting figures. And in Gabriella's opinion everybody was capable of moving to a certain rhythm, so it was a decided matter. And as a result, she had texted Chris as soon she had gotten a hold of her cell phone. And now there she was, waiting for him to show up in the library.

Impatient, she looked at her watch for the third time in five minutes. He was late, and usually he was never late, especially if he had promised to come as soon and fast as possible. Anxious, she tapped her fingers on her desk, wishing that Chris would get a move on. This was important and she really hoped that the baseball team would be pleased to help out, otherwise she would be sunk. If the baseball team couldn't help them… Gabriella didn't want to think about that.

Just as she was about to look at her watch for the fourth time, Chris stumbled into the library, looking soaked with sweat and wiped out. Cocking an eyebrow, Gabriella regarded him carefully, before asking: "What's happened to you? You look kinda … awful!" Chris darted a feigned malignant glance and growled: "I want to see you after two hours of stressing baseball training, and then we can speak again about that one, okay?" Gabriella just smiled. Both of them knew that she would never even lay a hand on a baseball bat, much less go through training.

"But you could have taken a shower at least, before you came here. Never heard of that?", she teased him friendly. He shot her glance. "You wanted me to come as soon as possible, am I correct? And here I am, so?" Gabriella acknowledged defeat: "Point taken." Chris beamed. "Okay, now, why did you want me to come here?" Gabriella sighed. "That's the problem. I bet you've heard about the contest between Amber and me?" She didn't even wait for an answer, figuring that he did. After all, the news had gone round the entire school only five minutes after she had agreed.

"Problem is, we have a completed dance, but it is nothing without any boys. We just can't find a way to leave all the lifting figures and the couple dance parts out." She looked at Chris expectantly, but he didn't seem to catch the hint. "Uhh, and what's that to do with me?" Gabriella shook her head resigned. Sometimes he was really slow. "We wanted to ask you and your team if you would take over the part of the men?" She hopefully looked upon him and met his shocked gaze. Uh oh, that didn't look too good.

"You want me… us to take part in your dance? You're kidding, right? You're not serious about that. Please tell me you're not." The very thought of it made him terrified. "You know that I've got absolutely no feeling for rhythms. And I somehow doubt that the others have more of that than me. We're not really musically, that's the reason we picked baseball, you know?" Sensing that pleading wouldn't get her anywhere, Gabriella took to pouting. "Please, Chris, we could at least try it! For me, yeah?" She bashed her eyelashes, knowing that Chris couldn't resist that. He adored her, not as a boy who wanted more, but in a brotherly way.

But this time, she definitely had no chance. "I'm sorry, Gaby, but I can't, _we_ can't. Baseball season has started and we really don't have time for anything but playing baseball. I'm so, so sorry." He didn't look really sorry, more relieved, but Gabriella knew that he was sorry. Not for the fact that he wouldn't have to dance, but for the fact that she had no dance partners for her squad. She buried her face in her hands. This was hopeless. Where should she take boys from that could do lifting figures and the dancing parts of the men?

Chris sensed her distress, but didn't know how to cheer her up. All that could help her was an answer for her problem. His face became kind of thoughtful, as he tried to think about another solution. "What about the basketball team? If I recall correctly, they don't have a game before four weeks from now. Maybe they could help you out?" Gabriella's head shot up. "Have you gone nuts? No way! Don't you remember that Bolton is the captain of the basketball team? In no case I would ask him for help. And even if I would, he wouldn't help me; that's as safe as the Bank of England!"

Her whole attitude spoke volumes and Chris shouted mentally at himself. How could he have been that stupid? He should have thought about that. "Any nasty encounters lately?", he asked tentatively, not wanting to stress her more as she already was. Bad tactic. Gabriella flared up as soon as his question fell from his mouth. "This morning. I swear that boy is on a mission to piss me off as much as possible. He just can't leave me alone, can he?" Telling him the whole story, her mood decreased to minus six on a scale from null to ten.

"You called him Troy?" Chris asked astonished at the end of the story. "You actually called him by his first name? Wow, never thought of that one. You sure you did that?" Gabriella glared at him. "Do you think I'm dumb? Of course I'm sure; the entire gym fell silent afterwards!" Once again, she buried her face in her hands, groaning. Chris observed her pitiful. He knew that it wasn't easy for her to stand up to Troy every day. Sighing, he engulfed her in a hug and rested his head on top of hers.

*

"My goose is cooked!" Gabriella couldn't believe it. Why the hell was fate that cruel? Now her last chance of beating Amber in this damn contest was gone and she didn't have a back-up plan. Pacing up and down the gym, to which she had returned after being calmed down by Chris, she shook her head, watched by Taylor and Sharpay, who regarded their best friend worriedly. They had never seen her so distraught.

"You've gotta see the good things in life! At least, we don't have to put up with Brandon now. Just imagine what would go on here if he'd be with you more than five minutes. It would end in a big mess, believe me." Sharpay tried to comfort her, but it didn't work. "I would have put up with anybody, if that meant beating Amber as a result! Well, that means anybody besides Bolton, of course. Before I ask him for help, I rather go down in shame, really."

Taylor shot her a curious look. "How did you come up with Troy now? I personally wouldn't even have thought about asking the basketball team. Interesting, really." Gabriella shook her head with force. "No, not the least bit interesting. That's totally out of the question. It's Bolton we're talking about!" Sharpay and Taylor exchanged a small smile. If they weren't mistaken, they both were thinking the same at the moment. "Uh, Gaby, would you please excuse us? We've got somewhere to be!" Hurriedly, both of them excused themselves and made a run for the door.

Gabriella looked after them, shaking her head in confusion. That was more than just strange. "And what's with the dance?", she shouted after them, half awaiting that nobody would answer. But to her surprise, Taylor found the time to look back and shout: "You'll see, there's a solution for everything!" Laughing, she escaped through the door, through which Sharpay had already vanished. Alright, now it was official. Taylor had lost her mind. Gabriella rolled her eyes and let her shoulders fall down. What should she do now? Slowly she made her way to the door, but changed her mind, her hand resting on the door handle.

Letting herself sink to the floor, sliding along the door in the process, Gabriella put her head in her face, desperately trying not to completely break down. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Dancing without boys would be a catastrophe, dancing with the boys from the baseball team was out of the question. And there wasn't any other solution, was there? Gabriella shook her head upset, not aware of the piercing, blue eyes that watched her from the other side of the gym.

**Sooo, who can guess who's watching her? It's not that hard really, is it? I suppose we all know it. Thanks for reading this chapter and for putting up with my taking my time and having patience. And an even bigger thanks to those who'll press that big button down there and leave a review, because they seriously make my day. **

**And a little note to Nicole, Kris and Zoe: I'm so, so sorry for being this horrible with responding to you, but my finger's hurting like hell right now and I'm glad I even got this finished. Typing is not as hard as hand-writing, but it still hurts and I already also did my homework on my computer, so my pain tolerance for today is exhausted. I'll try to write to all three of you tomorrow and thanks for not losing your patience and hitting me virtually… Luv ya all. **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	7. Shocking help

**Heya, guys! I'm back (from my orientation days, to be exact) and I've brought a new chapter with me! Hurray to that. Anyways, I only have time posting this, because I'm sick as hell at the moment and I don't have to do my homework (I will, however, have to do them all after I get back to school… damn, maybe I should start with them now). Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this one and – hopefully – review, which would be very nice of you. Thanks!**

**And yep, all of you who guessed that it was Troy watching her in the gym, you were right (and I'm sorry I didn't tell you that through a review reply, but I'm working on it, I swear.) So let's see what a solution Taylor and Sharpay have found and what Troy's going to do about his observation. Have fun!**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. ****It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Gabriella looked after them, shaking her head in confusion. That was more than just strange. "And what's with the dance?", she shouted after them, half awaiting that nobody would answer. But to her surprise, Taylor found the time to look back and shout: "You'll see, there's a solution for everything!" Laughing, she escaped through the door, through which Sharpay had already vanished. Alright, now it was official. Taylor had lost her mind. Gabriella rolled her eyes and let her shoulders fall down. What should she do now? Slowly she made her way to the door, but changed her mind, her hand resting on the door handle. _

_Letting herself sink to the floor, sliding along the door in the process, Gabriella put her head in her face, desperately trying not to completely break down. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Dancing without boys would be a catastrophe, dancing with the boys from the baseball team was out of the question. And there wasn't any other solution, was there? Gabriella shook her head upset, not aware of the piercing, blue eyes that watched her from the other side of the gym._

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Chapter Seven – Shocking help

Three days later on Monday, Gabriella drove to school in her car that had been repaired by now. Parking in the school's parking lot – this time not stealing Chris' spot -, she jumped out of the car, but not as optimistic as on other days. She had had the whole weekend for finding an answer and she still hadn't found a solution for her problem and slowly the time ran out. They just had five more days to practice, and that just if they set a practice for every day till Friday.

That would be hard work, but not as hard as making up a new choreography or finding boys for the dancing steps. Locking her car and striding directly to the doors of East High, she entered the well aired school building, thankful for a bit fresh air. The weather outside was hotter than she had believed this morning and she was glad that she had decided on wearing a skirt that was short, but still didn't violate the school's rules, and a curt top. That, however, changed as soon as she turned the corner and saw Brandon coming her way.

"Bonjour, mon cherié!", he greeted her, already grinning again. Slowly but surely, Gabriella was sure that she'd get sick of seeing it every day of this damn school year. Groaning and not even attempting to stop, she just walked on, already knowing that Brandon would follow her, instead of leaving her alone. "First off, Brandon, it's 'ma cherié', not 'mon cherié', you should know that if you're trying to speak French. Second, I'm not you're 'cherié', understood?" She didn't once doubt that he wouldn't care about what she said, he just wasn't that sort of type who actually listened to the girls they were trying to flirt with.

And she was right. Pretending to not have heard her correction, Brandon just put his arms around her petite shoulders in what he thought was looking like a nonchalant way. Pulling a disgusted face, she was tempted to shrug him off, but didn't do it as she noticed that Troy Bolton was directly starring at them. She didn't know exactly why, but she felt like she would be humiliating herself if she turned Brandon down in front of Troy's eyes.

So she bit her tongue and endured Brandon's kind of hug until they were out of eyeshot. As soon as Gabriella knew they were out of Bolton' sight, she immediately broke away from him, rolling her shoulders uneasily. Brandon's hugs really weren't anything you'd pray for. But it didn't seem like Brandon was catching on, because he was still smirking greasily, thinking Gabriella had finally come around to see what a great guy he was. Boy, was he wrong.

"Are you crazy?", the brunette screeched, not even caring to turn her voice down. "When did I allow you to put your slimy arms around my shoulders? You really should have made out by now that everyone who's right in their mind would at least stay three metres away from you!"

By now, the whole hallway was watching and listening, but Gabriella didn't care. She was accustomed to attention and since she had agreed to that stupid contest she had gotten thrice as much as usually.

Brandon slowly checked that things didn't go quite as planned as he had thought. "But… but you just… you didn't…", he stammered, not getting a whole sentence out. If he weren't such an idiot, Gabriella would have pitied him, but that wasn't the case, on so she just shrugged. "What I do and what I do not is not your problem, okay? I told you I want nothing to do with you. You're just not my type, alright?" Her voice softened, not wanting to disgrace him more than she already had.

But obviously Brandon was a dead loss. He brightened up immediately after those words had left her mouth and half-shouted: "Ha, I knew you wouldn't resist my charm. So when do you wanna go out with me?" Gabriella looked at him, unbelieving. That boy really didn't pay any attention at all now, did he? In that case he was worse than Troy Friday morning. By the way… Troy! He hadn't witnessed this scene, had he? Not minding Brandon anymore, Gabriella let her gaze fly over the audience that had arisen, searching for the certain blue eyed boy and finding him, much to her dismay.

He stood in the first row, arms crossed, watching her every movement and grinning nastily, as he noticed that she was starring at him with wide eyes. He knew that she just had sustained Brandon's arm around her, because he had been standing in the hallway. He was sure that she had thought it would piss him off, but he didn't see any reason. Whatever happened, it was crystal-clear that Brandon was the last guy Gabriella would ever go out with, even he was the last boy on earth. In fact he was sure that Brandon even came after him himself on Gabriella's list with boys she'd ever go out with. And Troy knew that he was ranked on the last position, well, besides Brandon.

And now, seeing her being shocked after finding out he had witnessed the whole scene just proved his theory. So he flashed a very cocky smile to her, one of which he knew that it was still irresistible. And irresistible smiles from him that would cause every other girl to faint lead with her normally to only one think: one short snort and then a departure only she could pull off. And he wasn't disappointed. Throwing her head back, a faked uppish look on her face, she whirled around on her heel, leaving behind a satisfied smiling Troy, a foolish looking Brandon and lots of other people.

*

After her first period, natural science, Gabriella exited the class room with a relaxed smile on her face. Science was one of her favourite subjects, plainly because a main part of it were numbers and mathematic or chemical formulas. And those were so much more logical than the human mind. Numbers were calculable, they always kept in line, were never unpredictable and couldn't contradict you… at least not by speaking. And that's why Gabriella found them so pleasantly. They were the complete opposite from Troy. And that was a big benefit in Gabriella's opinion.

Ripped out of her thoughts by hearing loud running in the corridor, she raised her head, surprisingly meeting her best friends' faces. Questioningly she looked at them, for all she knew they had English next and the class room was at the exact opposite side of the school building. So why the hell were the two of them here? In front of her science class? Obviously searching for her? She got her answers only seconds later. "Gabriella!" Sharpay's voice was louder than it was necessary over this short distance. But that was just Sharpay being Sharpay, always loud, always flashy.

The two girls came to a halt in front of Gabriella. "We've found a solution for the problem!" What?! No way! Gabriella's mouth fell open, her mind swirling. How the hell had they found a solution that she hadn't thought about? But nevertheless she felt a wave of relief wash over her. This were her best friends, girls she had known since kindergarten and she knew she could trust them. If they said they had found a solution, then she could build on it.

"Thank god!", she got out, after she had recovered from the surprise. "Do tell!", she urged them, impatiently awaiting their answer. But they only shook their heads, a mysterious grin in their faces. "Just wait till free period. Come to the gym and you'll see, okay? We've set a practice, so everybody will be there."

And both of them scurried off in a hurry, without leaving Gabriella any time to ask further questions. They had found a solution, but they heavily doubted that their captain would be too pleased with it. Actually they both counted on an outburst of fury, but they had conceived that they couldn't be too considerate of Gabriella's feelings right now. After all, this was important for all of them. No one wanted for Amber to win and no one wanted for them themselves to loose, so there was no other choice.

*

Driven by curiosity, Gabriella entered the gym in free period hesitantly. Not knowing what was awaiting her nearly drove her insane and she wasn't exactly sure if her best friends' idea was such a good one. Right, she had been more confident after they had told her, but with the come and gone hours her optimism had considerably melted like snow in the glowing sun. She relaxed only a little bit when she saw most of the dancing squad already sitting on the gym floor, laughing and talking about the most random things.

All of them seemed to have a good time and nothing reminded of the tense atmosphere that had been tangibly the last time she had saw them. That probably meant that they already knew about the solution and that they found it good. That alone raised Gabriella's spirits and her hope, but otherwise she got the feeling of being left out. Why did everyone know about the solution and she herself as the team captain did not? It wasn't fair. And that little fact made her suspicious. Somehow she got the feeling that she wouldn't like the denouement.

She didn't know how right she was. At that precise moment, Sharpay and Taylor entered the gym, closing the door as soon as they came in. Nevertheless Gabriella thought to have seen more people standing behind the two girls. But she couldn't care about that, she finally wanted to know about the answer to their problem. Staying in the middle of the gym, where she had positioned herself, she waited for them to approach and felt a girl coming towards her from the other side of the gym.

Turning around, she spotted Becky, of who she had grown very fond of in the last few days. The younger girl was always laughing and never to tired for a good joke. And also up for the craziest ideas. Coming to a halt beside her, Becky smiled up at Gabriella, but the older girl nevertheless noticed the spark of – what was it? Apprehension? No, certainly not, why would there be? Unless… she had to do something with whatever the girls had come up with and was sure that Gabriella wouldn't like it.

Suddenly, Gabriella felt two figures standing next to her. It seemed as if Taylor and Sharpay had eventually reached them. "So… what's your fantastic idea?", Gabriella asked, not bearing the anticipation any longer. Taylor opened her mouth to answer, but Sharpay plainly cut her off. "We've found the perfect boys for the dance!" Wow, that was … awesome! Gabriella hadn't reckoned with such news, she had thought they had found a way to dance without boys at all, but this was even better. "Amazing!" Her whole voice sounded livelier and she brightened up at once. "Who are they?"

That question abruptly managed to get the whole gym quiet. Apparently all of the girls had just waited for that one question and now it had been asked. Slowly but surely Gabriella got the idea that this would get worse, not better. Turning around to Sharpay, she asked worriedly: "Uh, I will be in favour with them, won't I?" Being directly spoken to, Sharpay tried a fake smile, brightly beaming, but couldn't quite cover up her nervousness. "Of course you'll be content with them!", she said effusively, but added in a much quieter voice: "You just don't have another choice." Gabriella intently wished she wouldn't have heard that supplement.

Because slowly she got a blurred image of which kind the solution was. And it wasn't a pleasant one. "Please don't tell me…", she prayed imploringly, not daring to end her sentence, as if it would become more real than as it already was. Taylor took one close look at her friend and could see that Gabriella was thinking the right thing. Not good. They had agreed on gently breaking the news to her, but there was no sense in that if she had already half figured it out. So she decided on short term to tell her straight away. Or, to rephrase, to show her in this case.

Only with looks she asked Becky to open the gym door and let the guys in. With a nervous smile on her face, the younger sprinted to the door and let the boys in. In came… the complete basketball team, Chad and Zeke to head. Gabriella nearly got a heart attack. This was the basketball team. Troy's team for hell's sake! What the heck had they thought by asking them? She quickly let her gaze float over the team, but to her big surprise and greatest relief Troy wasn't with them. But how the hell had they managed to get them to help them? And did Troy even know about this?

Gabriella shook herself mentally. Of course Troy knew about this. He knew everything that went on in and around East High School. But that was what astonished Gabriella the most. He knew about this and he hadn't forbidden his team mates to help her? She was sure that they wouldn't have dared to ignore his prohibition, so he couldn't have told them not to do it. Which led to the biggest question: Why? Really wanting to know, she turned to Chad: "Hey, Chad! So you're really going to help us? Thanks so much!" She engulfed him into a hug, squeezing him in a fondly way.

After releasing him, she nodded at the other team members, a grin spreading across her face. They had just saved her butt from getting burned in shame. All the same, she couldn't withhold herself any longer: "Where's Bolton? I've never seen all of you together without him." It wasn't that she missed him, she was just curious. But her innocent question wasn't received with a simple answer; instead Chad threw her an apologizing look. Gabriella cocked her eyebrow. She hadn't been complaining about him not being here, had she now? In fact, she was more than happy to not see him. So there was no need to apologize, or was there?

Sharpay, who had remained still behind her back, now hemmed quietly. Turning around to her with wide eyes, Gabriella looked at her expectantly, noticing that all of them, girls and boys, were looking more than uncomfortable. Okay? That didn't look like that was all of the solution. There still was something she didn't know and obviously this was the nasty part of it. "Yeah?", she asked, trying to get rid of the awkward feeling that had gotten to her. "Well, you see…" Sharpay started, not quite wanting to get the words out.

Sensing that, Taylor took over. "You see, those aren't all of the basketball team, there are a few who just couldn't find time to help us." Gabriella felt like laughing and a smile broke out onto her face. That was the best news since those that they had found a solution. So Troy had no time. Good to know. That meant that he wouldn't have time to piss her off. Too bad that she had obviously misunderstood her friend, because Taylor spoke on: "And that are just fourteen boys." Oh, not good. As long as Gabriella knew the dancing squad had fifteen members. "Does that mean that one boy's missing?"

Unfortunately not. Taylor shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant." She dry-swallowed, before she found the strength to release the last part of the news. "You see, we didn't exactly plan on asking him," Gabriella missed the intrigued-looking face of Becky, "but then we had no other choice and surprisingly he said yes." She grinned, ill at ease. And in Gabriella's head a light bulb went on. They weren't trying to tell her that Troy was going to leave her alone for some time, they were trying to break to her that she was bound to spend some time with him. "That doesn't mean business, does it? No kidding? No, please tell me that I'm thinking the wrong thing!"

She wasn't. Behind her back, she heard the gym door being slammed and footsteps could be heard in the silence that had been present since Gabriella had been told that she was thinking right. She closed her eyes, waiting for the footsteps to fade away, which they surprisingly didn't do too soon. She could feel someone step behind her and then a voice was audible: "Missed me, Montez?" This wasn't happening. This just wasn't happening, frankly because it couldn't be happening. The probability of this event was equal zero. Because that's what you get if you computed the chance of an enemy helping his ex-girlfriend in a contest in which he was put as the prize. You see, totally impossible.

After thirty seconds Gabriella decided she couldn't stay with her back turned to him forever. So she took to facing him, but not without clearly showing that she wasn't just shocked, but also outraged. "Bolton! What the hell are you doing here?" She couldn't believe it, nor understand it. Even if her friends had asked him, why the hell would he do it? She was his ex-girlfriend, his enemy, the one who despised him most. She was enemies with his current 'girlfriend', but for all that did he want to help her? No way!

But it did seem that way. "Well, you see, Montez, Kim and Taylor over there", he pointed at her friends who wore pretty uneasy facial expressions, "asked me to come to your help and me being me just couldn't find myself able to refuse bluntly. So here I am, flawless and prepared to help you out." Once again he didn't seem to be able to dispense with his cocky smile, so it was playing around his lips again. But it wasn't what discomposed Gabriella the most. No, it was his tone that got her knickers in a twist. "Bastard!", she crunched between her teeth, not believing that he would have heard her.

But she thought wrong. "Not nice, Montez!", he teased her. "If I were in your shoes I wouldn't be saying anything, otherwise I could think twice about this and maybe I'd just go? And if I recall correctly, you can't afford that now, can you?" Of course, he was right, but that didn't keep Gabriella off being bugged. "Trust me, before I accept any help from _you, _I'll rather go down without even competing in this daft contest." Troy smirked. "Then I'll be going now, won't I?" He turned around, attempting to leave the gym by walking extra slowly.

Gabriella watched him retreat and couldn't help but feeling helpless. She knew that he really was their last chance, but trying to hold him back? No way, for that she was way too proud. Nevertheless she felt guilty as she watched him lay his hand on the handle. It wouldn't be just her that would be embarrassed in front of the whole school, no, it implied the entire squad. Tempted to actually shout out for him to stop, she compressed her lips, throwing a pleading look to Sharpay and Taylor. Couldn't they find another solution? Did they really need Troy?

Sharpay caught Gabriella's look, but just shook her head. In her opinion this was definitely something that Gabriella had to work out for herself and she wasn't going to help in any way. Especially not if it included giving into Gabriella's pick-headed mind. Taylor, though, finally decided to do something. She, too, didn't intend on letting Gabriella get out of this, just because she was too stubborn to accept help from her ex-boyfriend. But, after all, someone had to do something before they lost their last chance just because of too much pride. That was just stupid. "Troy, wait!", she called after the retreating boy, who had paused at the door. With a grin on his face he turned around again, cocking his head to one side.

Without having wanted to, several girls couldn't help but give a sigh of pleasure. It was so cute watching Troy to cock his head. At least that was their opinion. Gabriella, however, threw them a shocked look. How could you find such a simple gesture of a boy so sweet that you sigh? And above all from a boy being such an asshole as Troy Bolton? Sure, he was East High's golden boy, but that didn't mean you had to swoon if he just looked at you.

Apparently, Troy had noticed her rolling eyes, seeing as he called over to her: "Don't start complaining, Montez; you weren't any different from them." He pointed to the girls, who immediately started giggling and blushing. Gabriella, though, starred at him as though he wasn't right in his mind. Well, that reflected her opinion very well. Narrowing her eyes, she fumed: "Don't dare going there, Bolton! I haven't asked you for your opinion, have I? And I certainly don't care about it, either. And concerning my behaviour ages ago, I'm just as sorry about that as you."

Troy's eyes went slightly big. So she actually thought he was sorry about ever going out with her? Dear Lord, that was just … ridiculous. But… if she insisted on that opinion, he certainly wouldn't try and change her mind. He took a few steps in her direction again, and changed the topic, asking: "So what? Am I supposed to help you now, or aren't I?" Not that he would be dying to help her, this was just as hard for him as it was for her, but she simply couldn't or didn't want to see it.

Gabriella, at exact the same time, was trying to keep herself together. Of course he would evade the issue, when did he ever really discuss something so serious? Simple question, easy answer: Never. Raging, she detached her gaze from his now emotionless face, turning to Sharpay and Taylor. Taken by their arms, the two of them couldn't help but go along with Gabriella, who pulled them into a more isolated corner of the gym. "This isn't reality, is it? This is a dream and when I wake up, it'll all be alright, the first day of school is still to come and I haven't agreed to this stupid contest, right?" Gabriella looked at them hopefully, begging for them to agree with her.

Sensing that, Taylor tentatively answered: "Well, you see, we _could _tell you that … but we would lie, so what's more important to you? The hope or the truth?" Uh, that answered Gabriella's question, but unfortunately not the way she had wanted it to. Groaning, she put her head in her hands, but then looked up again. "We don't have a choice… I don't have a choice, do I?" Sharpay and Taylor nodded simultaneous. "Nope, you haven't got one." Gabriella closed her eyes, trying to resign herself to it. "Okay then, I' guessing it'll be so. We've got boys, we've got the dance, we've got us, so what are we waiting for?"

Her best friends shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Maybe it could be interesting to set who's dancing with whom?" Taylor suggested, getting bumped in her hip by Sharpay. "Not good, girl. You know we already figured that out!", she whispered, not wanting for Gabriella to hear. And this time it was successful. The brunette nodded, already trying to compile the dancing partners, but then Sharpay interfered: "You know what? That's not necessary. We've already introduced everyone and everybody has found someone he or she's comfortable to dance with, so no worries there." Gabriella cocked an eyebrow. "Let me guess: You've already got the perfect partner for me, too?"

Sharpay grinned at her satisfied, while Taylor was smiling shyly. "Well, maybe we have?", she questioned more than that she said. Gabriella smiled sweetly, but you could see that it was faked. "Well, do tell, I'm anxious to hear about this." Taylor threw Sharpay a short look. "Your idea, you're telling her, Kim!" Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Coward!" Alright, Gabriella definitely didn't like the direction this conversation had taken. Why would they be afraid to tell her who she was dancing with? Sometimes she really could be a little slow, especially if it came to things she frankly refused to believe.

"Well, we thought that Taylor and I could dance with Chad and Zeke, you know?" Gabriella rolled her eyes. She should have foreseen this; it was obvious that they had thought of them first of all because of the chance to spend more time with their boyfriends. She didn't exactly blame them for that, just for the fact that she'd have to put up with Troy. "And me?", she stated the obvious question, getting feared the moment she saw them exchanging a worried look. "You didn't think about Troy and me, did you?" She didn't really believe in it, not even them were that dumb.

Too bad, that she sometimes overestimated her own friends. "Well…" Taylor procrastinated getting the words out of her mouth, so Sharpay eventually chimed in: "Hell, why's this so complicated. Yes, we thought about it and technically you don't have another choice, because everybody else is already set up." Now, this was something to throw Gabriella over the edge. "Okay, this is definitely putting the lid on this. First I have to hear that I'll have to put up with that jerk for the entire week and now you're telling me that you want me to dance with him?"

She couldn't believe them. But Sharpay could. "That's exactly what we were trying to tell you, yeah!", she chirped, happy that Gabriella had understood them that quickly. "So, now that we've determined that, we can go and start training, can't we?" She turned around, hoping to get away from the uneasy part of the conversation that was undoubtedly to come. But there was no chance. Gabriella shorthanded grabbed her at the collar of her dancing outfit and forced her to stay where she was. "No, no, no! You're not getting out of here, until we've clarified that."

Unwillingly,Sharpay turned around in her grasp, meeting Gabriella's angry gaze in the process. This wasn't going to turn out very good. And she wasn't the only one who noticed that. Both dancing squad and basketball team had watched the conversation from afar, and now they got restive. Obviously they had told Gabriella about her dance partner. And from the looks of it, she hadn't taken it in quite well. Becky, not wanting to remain passive, jumped up from the floor she had sat on for the past five minutes and hurried over to the three older girls.

Seeing Gabriella stressed out the instant she got there, she soothingly laid a hand on the shoulder of the brunette. "Aww, come on, Gabby, take me as an example. I'm doing it with a boy three years older than me! And it's not that bad." The instant she had said it, she clapped both hands over her mouth. Gabriella looked more than shocked, whilst Taylor and Sharpay seemed not to be able to contain their laughter. "Upps, that came out a little wrong, I guess." Becky giggled, turning red. Why the hell hadn't she thought about what she was going to say before she actually opened her mouth?

Shaking her head, she spoke on: "Oh, stop it, Sharpay! That's so not the point right now! So if you could please stop laughing?" The last sentence she didn't only direct to the blonde, but also to Taylor. Gabriella used the break they had taken from trying to convince her and half-shouted: "But that guy hasn't been your enemy for the last two years, has he? And he's not your ex-boyfriend! Or is he?" She looked at the younger girl, still thinking about what Becky had said a minute before. "Of course not, Gabby! What the heck are you thinking?" Gabriella shrugged. "You never know!"

Taylor, seeing that the conversation took the wrong course, finally brought the previous topic back up. "Oh, please, Gabby, you just have to do it! There's no other boy to dance with and Troy's not that bad!" Gabriella opened her mouth to contradict her, but Taylor wasn't having it. "Oh no, you're not saying anything right now, understood? Just let me speak, that's what's best at the moment, trust me." Defeated, Gabriella let her head hang loose and waited for the unavoidable speak.

"You have to face it, Gabby. This contest isn't about dancing and cheerleading, it really isn't. Amber doesn't want to know which the better sport is; she wants to know who the better girl is. And that includes you and her, no one else. This isn't about the whole squads, it's about you two, remember that. She's jealous because you've been Troy's girlfriend and she's just one of his other 'sluts', if you know what I mean." Hrmph, in Gabriella's opinion having been Troy's girlfriend wasn't something to be jealous about.

Taylor spoke on: "And as it is you'll have to see that you have to be the best. Of course, we can't let ourselves hang loose, and that's not what we're going to do, but you have to be the best of this squad. And it's a fact that you already know the dance and that Troy does as well. It's just logical that you two should dance together." Gabriella snorted. "There's nothing logical in that, Taylor. He knows the dance, so? That's no reason to let him dance with me. I bet he's just here to try and ruin our training! He'll let me fall or something else, the first time he gets the chance to! You don't honestly believe that he would help me instead of Amber!"

Taylor could see the point in that, but still she shook her head. "I don't know why he's here, but it isn't to ruin our training or to hurt you in any way. You know he's not like that!" Gabriella shook her head. He wasn't like that and she knew it. But still… She just didn't want to. But suddenly Sharpay stepped in: "Alright, Gabriella, listen to me! You… don't… have… a… choice!" She emphasized every little word. "You're going to have to dance with him, otherwise we'll loose this damn thing. And it's not only you loosing your face, it's the entire squad. And we're certainly not interested in getting embarrassed in front of the whole school, just because of a short phase of hatred between you and him! So, either you'll dance with him or you'll let it, but think about the consequences!"

Wow, these words had power. Gabriella looked at Sharpay, honestly surprised. She had never known that she could be that convincing. She really made it sound as if there was no other solution. But Gabriella's mind was racing nevertheless. There was no way she would let that git touch her ever again. And … short phase? Sharpay had the nerves to call two years of merciless teasing, bringing down and serious fights a … _phase_? Unbelievable! However, she had to make a decision and she had to make it quick, because she could sense the two teams getting bored behind her back.

With a sigh, she turned around and retreated to the middle of the gym, the three other girls directly behind her. Chad threw them a questioning, but all three of them just shrugged their shoulders. In the mood Gabriella was in at the moment she was incalculable. None of them knew what she would do. Well, what was she doing? It looked like she wanted to have a word with Troy. Stepping in front of him, she pointed her finger at his chest, starring up in his electric blue eyes.

"You do know why I don't want to dance with you? Especially not to this song?" Troy shook his head, not grasping her meaning. She shook her head. "Of course you don't, why would you? You obviously don't care about anything that was two years ago." Troy looked at her with an unreadable face, waiting for her to continue. "And you're doing this why? Why do you want to help me? I'm your ex-girlfriend, I'm enemies with your current … whatever you might call her. So why the hell? Why would you do this?"

Troy swallowed. That was the question he had asked himself for the last two days, since he had said yes to Taylor and Sharpay. And he still didn't have the answer. "Maybe because I care at least a little bit about you?", he tried to wriggle his way out of her questioning. But that was apparently the wrong way. Her eyebrows narrowed in anger, she spit out: "We both know that's not true! You don't care even a little bit about me! You never have, you don't do now and you probably never will, so don't come with that! You never cared about me, admit it!"

Oh no, he so wouldn't do that. It wouldn't be right; it would be the last thing on earth he'd ever do. "That's a downright lie!", he defended himself, not daring to look into her eyes. "You know that it's not true! I did care about you … a lot!" The gym fell silent. This was the first time they had ever heard the golden boy admit some of his feelings out loud. They were old feelings, but still… it was something! It was just too bad that Gabriella didn't believe a word he said. "Don't lie to me, Bolton! You've done that for the last two years and I know it! So why won't you just come out with the truth?" She had tears shimmering in her eyes, but tried her best not to let them fall.

Troy looked at her and got a lump in his throat. Watching her being this upset was hard. Harder than having her scream at her. Harder than anything she had every done to him. "I don't lie, Gabriella, you just don't want to believe me! You're too stubborn to admit that you've jumped to conclusions all those times ago and now you're trying everything to cover it up. I wasn't the one to break our relationship, it was you if I recall correctly and you know I do!" Finally he brought up the courage to look her in the eyes. Gabriella starred up at him, restraining herself from crying and nearly crunching with her teeth. She and stubborn? She not being able to admit she made a mistake? Who was the one who couldn't admit that _he _had made the mistake? The mistake that brought their relationship to downfall?

"At least I didn't let myself get seduced by a sluttish cheerleader!" Gabriella was raging, her blood boiling, and she didn't care any longer about what she said. Much to Troy's dismay, because after her announcement, the entire gym had fallen silent once again, until the first whispers started to go round, jumbled voices ringed through the hall, and everyone was speculating about what was to come now. Would Gabriella finally break? Would she tell all of them what happened in Sophomore Year by finally accusing Troy of whatever he had done? Would she finally let her feelings out and shower him with it?

There wasn't one in the room who wished Gabriella would shut up. Well, no one besides Troy. He was more than afraid of what was to come. Of course he knew why Gabriella had broken up with him, the reason why she had dumped him, but he didn't exactly know what she thought. She could have jumped to wrong conclusions, she could have thought whatsoever and he had never known, because she just wouldn't talk to him about that. So what would he be told? What was Gabriella's point of view from Sophomore Year?

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**Alright, so that was it for this time, pals! And I would say I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger, except I'm not, so… sorry bout that. And yes, Nicole, you were right. You'll get to know what happened in Sophomore Year in chapter eight. **

**And guess what? The more of you review, the sooner I'll get the chapter out. So, how about pressing that nice little button down here and telling me exactly what you thought about this chapter. Much appreciated, thank you. **

**xoxo Lena**


	8. Sophomore Year

**Hey, ****guys! Sorry for the delay, although I promised you, but sometimes it's impossible to keep them. I got sick again, which seemed highly unlikely at first, because I'd been sick so often lately, until we found out that I had the kissing disease. Ever heard about that? If not, then you probably know the medical term: glandular fever. It's relatively harmless, but it had me in bed for some time. So, sorry for not updating earlier. **

**Happy news for all of those who read my other story 'First Bad Habit': I've finally started on it and it seems as though I'm finally having fun with that story again, so maybe you'll get it by the end of this month. If you don't find it up here by then, you can gladly blame my teachers, who are responsible for making me take a Spanish test on the upcoming Friday, a Latin test on the Tuesday afterwards, then a Maths test after the Latin one and finally a German one on the Friday the week after Spanish. Can someone tell me how to do all of this and keep up with the rest of my life?**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on FanFiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. ****Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

_Recap of the last chapter:_

"_At least I didn't let myself get seduced by a sluttish cheerleader!" Gabriella was raging, her blood boiling, and she didn't care any longer about what she said. Much to Troy's dismay, because after her announcement, the entire gym had fallen silent once again, until the first whispers started to go round, jumbled voices ringed through the hall, and everyone was speculating about what was to come now. Would Gabriella finally break? Would she tell all of them what happened in Sophomore Year by finally accusing Troy of whatever he had done? Would she finally let her feelings out and shower him with it?_

_There wasn't one in the room who wished Gabriella would shut up. Well, no one besides Troy. He was more than afraid of what was to come. Of course he knew why Gabriella had broken up with him, the reason why she had dumped him, but he didn't exactly know what she thought. She could have jumped to wrong conclusions, she could have thought whatsoever and he had never known, because she just wouldn't talk to him about that. So what would he be told? What was Gabriella's point of view from Sophomore Year?_

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Chapter eight – Sophomore Year

Yes, what was Gabriella's point of view from Sophomore Year? As much as Troy wanted to know, he would have appreciated it if she had told him in a less public place. He really didn't want their relationship spilled out to the gossiping student body of East High. But what could he do about it? It wasn't as if Gabriella was going to calm down in the next five minutes and even if it was possible for somebody to calm her down… it certainly wasn't him; that was for sure. If anything he would only make her go off quicker than she already was bound to.

So, regarding her suspicious, waiting for her to continue with her accusations, he stood still in his place, his mind racing. This wasn't going to get pretty and he didn't exactly know if he really was up to it. Getting insulted and possibly embarrassed had never been his favourite part. The other way round – insulting and embarrassing – was more likely him. Not that he would do that very often, but it suited him way more than being the victim of harassing.

But it seemed like it had to be this way and Troy decided to relax a little bit. There was no use in staying this tense, he would only get uptight. But relaxing obviously was the wrong move. Misinterpreting his actions, Gabriella was fuming even more. Apparently, Troy didn't care the tiniest bit about what had happened. Otherwise he wouldn't be so calm right now. That he could be resigned didn't even strike her mind.

She glared at him intently, only to have him meet her eyes in a serene manner. It wasn't like he wasn't nervous as hell, but what was the use if he showed it on the outside? It wouldn't get him anywhere. Standing here and letting her stare at him for the next twenty minutes indeed wasn't useful either. And it didn't seem as if she would continue with a flaming speech, so he decided to answer her. "What sluttish cheerleader?"

He had to do his best to restrain himself from grinning slightly. This situation was nowhere near funny, but nevertheless, the question was ridiculous. Of course he knew what sluttish cheerleader Gabriella was talking about – well, he didn't exactly remember her name -, but he wanted to hear it from her herself. Gabriella, though, just shook her head. She wasn't going to answer that question, knowing that Troy had only asked it to get it from her. And she wasn't doing him that favour, certainly not.

"You know what I'm talking about!", she declared, her voice cold and emotionless. All of the girls groaned. Heck, even if Gabriella did know it, they didn't and they wanted to know. And if Troy and Gabriella decided to beat about the bush, they wouldn't get the information they wanted so badly. But they didn't have to worry: Troy, not wanting to dance around the topic any longer, finally spilled, what all of them wanted to hear: "Hell, Montez! I already said this about a hundred times and I'm only going to say this once again: I did not cheat on you!"

Whispers broke out all around the hall. So this whole fighting revolved around cheating? Gabriella supposed that Troy had cheated on her? With a cheerleader? Wow, that undoubtedly was news. And very hard to believe. To the time the two of them had still been an item, everybody had been of the opinion that the two of them made the perfect couple. That was until the break-up, but that didn't matter. There had been many that had believed that they had never seen a relationship that was so perfectly fitting.

*

_The sun was shining warm and the birds were chirping all around the country. Life was peaceful, both in everyday life and in business. And __East High School didn't build an exceptional case. It was second period and most of the girls and boys that attended East High were participating in classes, not yet too tired to follow the declarations of the teachers. But, as it was common knowledge, the exception proved the rule. And so it was a class on the second floor of the school building that didn't even try to be attentive._

_It was, how cou__ld it be another way, Mrs. Darbus' drama class. The sophomores, having the uncomfortable pleasure to take part in her class, were anywhere with their thoughts, but not in the teaching of the unpopular teacher. After all, Mrs. Darbus wasn't known for her interesting stories or any stuff that was necessarily to be learnt, all she ever talked about was her personal life, the fact that half the life consisted of acting and cleaning your souls and, naturally, that you needed to study hard and thoroughly if you wanted to make it through living. And none of those rants was interesting for any of the pupils._

_That was the reason why many had already logged-off and flew away in their dreamlands, where they did__n't have to suffer under Darbus' influence. However, some were still, but they too weren't paying any attention to the teacher. Flying papers were sent right through the class room, notes were thrown to friends sitting ten metres away without being noticed and some even chatted with each other, knowing they wouldn't be caught. To the ones starring into space without thinking anything belonged Troy Bolton. East High's golden boy even at this young age, the dream of many girls and the boyfriend of Gabriella Montez._

_The said girl was sitting in the back of the classroom, looking at __Troy's back, thinking about the last date they had had. He had taken her to a hidden lake somewhere outside of East and they had definitely had a blast, going swimming and having a picnic. Troy surely was the perfect boyfriend. At this specific moment, the boy turned around in his seat and saw her looking at him. She smiled at him, waving shyly. His mouth twisted into a grin and he winked at her. Several sighs could be heard from different girls. Why couldn't it be them he was winking at?_

_Gabriella__ laughed quietly, ripping a little piece of paper from her writing block, and scribbled a short note on it. Throwing it to him, missing only by a few centimetres, she indicated for him to read it and he did as he was told. The words written on the paper sent another smile to his face. __**Still that famous?**__, it read, with smiles all over the paper. He hastily searched for a pen, but didn't found any. Shorthanded grabbing over at Chad's desk, he borrowed his without even asking. Despite the protest from his best friend, he wrote back, always keeping the pen away from Chad's desperate grasp. _

_Seeing __Chad grabbing for his pen hopelessly sent the whole class laughing, practically rolling on the floor after seeing his facial expression. Eventually overcome by pity, Troy finished writing and gave the pen back to its owner, who cuddled up to the tack as if it was his most prized possession. Shaking his head, Troy threw the note back to Gabriella, hitting her desk perfectly well, due to his basketball skills. Smiling, Gabriella opened it and read what was written under her own writing. __**Yeah, but you're still the only one :) **_

_Gabriella__'s smile got even wider than it already had been. Curious about Troy's answer, Amy Garner, one of Gabriella's friends, elongated herself over to her desk to read the note, smiling at Gabriella after seeing Troy's sweet answer. Gabriella just shrugged with raised eyebrows, her joy visibly played in her eyes. Amy sat back at her own desk, being asked what Troy had written only a few seconds later. Within only one minute, everybody in class knew what the golden boy's answer had been. And again about fifteen heavy sighs displayed as one could be heard. Those two together were just perfect. _

_*_

The happy memories of the past floating through Gabriella's mind hit her hard. After what had happened she had buried those memories far away from her mind, somewhere deep down in her heart, not intending on ever letting them come up again. And now here they were, confronting her with the past happenings more than she wanted them to. Shaking for she was trying to get them out, she spit out: "You already tried lying, Bolton, and it didn't get you anywhere. So why trying again? It's no good. I won't believe you and you know it!"

Troy took several steps forward, pointing his finger at her. "See? That's your freaking problem, Montez! You won't believe. But that's not because you've got anything that proves the opposite of what I'm saying, no it's because you don't want to believe me! You're too stubborn to admit it! You didn't see anything; there wasn't anything you could have seen, because there was nothing! I sure as hell didn't cheat on you and you've got no right to say so! I'm no liar and certainly no cheater! But that's besides your thinking, isn't it? You don't care, because you need to be right. Otherwise you would have to admit that you wasted two years with hating someone who doesn't deserve your hate!"

He swallowed hard. This was the first time he had ever admitted that he did care about her hating him and the other way round. He thought that it was unfair of her to hate him, he freaking hadn't done anything wrong! Too bad, that nothing of what he said brought Gabriella to think about it. If anything, it heated her boiling blood even more. "You're not thinking your damn excuses are any help, do you? Because they're not, Bolton! You know I've got reasons to believe you cheated on me and I know that you did it! I saw it and there's nothing you can do to refute that! Heck, you even ran after me, right after I saw you and … and that slut! You told me you were going to play basketball with your friends and instead you go and sleep with her!"

*

_The sun shone through the window of __Troy's room. He himself sat in front of his computer, searching the internet for information he needed for his school project. Yawning out of boredom, he leant back in his chair and threw a look at his watch. Damn, it was already three o'clock. He hadn't got any more time, he needed to hurry up. After all, he had a meeting in only half an hour and he needed to be ready for that._

_Speedily, he jumped up from his chair, preparing to leave the room, but before he had even made half of the way to the door he heard his cell phone ringing. Sighing and glancing at the clock one last time, he ran back and snatched the phone from his nightstand and answered the call. "Yeah?" A giggle came from the other end of the line. "Hey, handsome!" He recognized the voice the instant he heard it. "Hey, baby. What's up?" He prayed to god that this wouldn't take too long; he really had to hurry if he wanted to make it in time._

"_Uh, I was thinking that maybe we could meet up in an hour to watch a movie or something like that?" __Troy cursed silently, Gabriella had sounded hopeful. And he hated to disappoint her. "I'm so sorry, Ris, but I've gotta meet with Chad and the other boys, we decided to set a basketball practice early today and I'm already running late to meet up with them." He really was sorry to stand her up, but he didn't have another choice. He couldn't make it right for everyone._

"_Oh, okay then, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow then?" She really was sad, for she hadn't seen much of __Troy for the past few weeks, but she knew that basketball was important to him and she really understood if he had to train for the championships. Beating the Brighton High players was his biggest wish and she really wished for him to fulfil his dream. And so she had held herself back for the past days and had limited her own wishes to a minimum. _

_Troy__ knew that very well, but still he couldn't seem to find the time for his girlfriend. Heavy-hearted, he nodded silently, before remembering that she couldn't see him. "Yeah, I guess. I really got going, so until then… love you." He quickly ended the phone call and scurried out of the door. Now he was really running late._

_*_

_Three hours later, __Gabriella closed the front door of her house, whistling happily. She had just gotten a text from Troy, asking her to come over for a few hours. Apparently he had just come back from training and was hoping to see her. And who was she to refuse? So she had grabbed her cell phone and her coat, leaving the house in a very good mood. Arriving at the Bolton' after a good five minutes, she rang the door bell, waiting for Troy to open up._

_That was what he usually did. Every time he knew she would come over, he already was waiting at the door to greet her with a kiss, mostly one his parents weren't supposed to see, otherwise they would be seriously thinking about giving him 'The talk'. But this time he wasn't waiting. It was his mother, Mrs. __Bolton, who opened the door, surprised to see her son's girlfriend standing in the doorway. "Gabriella! Fancy seeing you again! It's been long since the last time you were here." Gabriella smiled at her. "Yeah, Troy's been busy a lot."_

_That obviously wasn't news to Mrs. __Bolton. "Yeah, he and his dad really are training hard for the championships. Really, I don't know why. What's the use in throwing and dribbling a ball around a court just to make points? I guess I'll never see it!" She sighed playfully. "Well, anyways, who am I to let you stand there? Come on in. You know where Troy's room is, I suppose? This other girl didn't, I had to show her. To be honest, I don't even know her, but she said she was a class mate of his. Well, you'll know her, won't you? She's up there with him."_

_Gabriella__ frowned, her smile fading. Another girl in Troy's room? What the hell? As long as she knew Troy hadn't any partner projects at this time and what other reason could there be for a girl to visit him? She didn't know, but she didn't intend on staying unsuspecting any longer. Nodding at Mrs. Bolton, she slowly went up the stairs, half awaiting, half dreading what was to come._

_*_

_The door banged open. Troy froze in shock. Turning around very, very slowly, he came face to face with Gabriella. A very shocked Gabriella. Starring at him and the girl behind him, her eyes went big and immediately filled with tears. Troy raised his hand to grab for her arm, to make her stay and let him explain, but Gabriella wasn't having it._

_Casting one last look at him, eyes filled with hurt and anger, she whirled around and made a run out of his house. __Troy shot one fired look at the girl standing behind him and started to sprint after his girlfriend. There was no way he would let her go the way she intended to._

"_Gabriella!", he shouted, already out of his house, seeing her running down the street, face in her hands. He knew she was crying, he knew how much she was hurt, because he felt the same pain burning inside him. "Gabriella!" Using all his strength, he managed to catch up to her, to grab her arm and swing her around, so she was facing him._

_Struggling, __Gabriella did all in her power to break free from his grasp, but he was way stronger than her. Holding his dead-pan grip around her elbow, he fought to make her stand still, to listen to him, but there was no way Gabriella was doing that._

"_Let go of me, __Troy!", she demanded, tears freely running down her cheeks, her voice breaking, but still filled with venom and loathing. "Let me go! I want to never see you again! Search for another girl you can fool, for all I care even Amber or that other bitch, but I'll never care again, I swear!"_

_*_

Relieving that memory, Gabriella's eyes immediately filled with tears again. Trying her hardest to hold them back, she looked at Troy accusingly, seeing him struggling for a response. How the hell should he explain to her what had happened that one fateful evening? She hadn't listened in the past; certainly she wouldn't listen now, would she? But, he noticed, she wouldn't have another option than listening, seeing as she couldn't run away this time. Her knees were weak and she was shaking from the strenuousness of holding the tears behind her eyelids.

Finally not able to put up more effort, she broke out in tears, now freely flowing down her sun-tanned face. Fighting the desire of wiping her tears away, Troy stayed put in his place, watching Taylor coming up to her and hugging her. For the first time in two years, he allowed himself to go back to the time Gabriella had been thinking about. He knew what she had seen in her imagination, he could tell by just looking at her. And for the very first time, he tried to see what sight it had to have been for her. Of course she couldn't have seen what had happened before she had barged into his room.

*

"_Yeah, man!" The cries of his friends reached __Troy Bolton' ears, after he had made the winning basket in the two-on-two game they had started to play nearly two hours ago. He smiled, satisfied that he and Chad had once again won the game against Jason and Zeke. Sweat dripping from all of the boys, they decided to leave the court for today and go home. Taking a gander at his watch, Troy deliberated whether he should call Gabriella or let her be for now and take her on a date tomorrow._

_Knowing that she would probably be ecstatic about a date, he came to the decision that he should take her out tomorrow. There was no use in asking her to come over for a few hours if he could be with her for the whole day if he just waited for another twelve hours. Concentrating back on his friends, he received three back-slaps and returned them, in his thoughts already under a cold shower._

_Grabbing his bag, he left the gym with a last: "Bye!" and made his way back home, whistling the whole distance long. Reaching the house, he was greeted by his mother, who had just come back from the groceries. "Hi, mom!" Mrs. __Bolton looked up, delighted to see her son back home. "Hey, Troy. Did the practice go well?" She wasn't really interested in basketball and Troy knew that, but she was glad that he had found a sport he was happy with. And to say that Troy was happy with basketball was the understatement of the century. Basketball was his life. Well, besides Gabriella, of course. _

_Entering the house, he sprinted up the stairs – the last sport he was going to do today – and into his room. Throwing his training bag onto his bed and placing his cell phone on the nightstand, he disappeared into the bathroom next to his room, taking only a towel with him. A quick shower would do wonders to his groggy condition. At least he supposed so. From downstairs he could hear voices and for a short moment he thought that his dad had already come from work._

_But listening more intently, he could make out two female voices, of which one he could make out as his mother's. __Troy was speculating who the other woman could be, but he didn't have a clue, so he just thought it would be one of his mother's friends. She didn't have any over very often, but it did happen …from time to time. Coming up from his thoughts, Troy asked himself why the hell he even thought about that. It wasn't his concern who was downstairs; all that mattered at the moment was the shower and the water that was going to come out of it. _

_Ten_ _minutes later, Troy had finished taking a shower and went out of the bathroom, back into his own room, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. All at once, he heard some noises coming from his room. What the heck? It couldn't be his mother, she hadn't been in his room since he had started going to East High. To that time he had started to want to become more independent from his parents and so he had insisted on getting his privacy and he had got it. The only disadvantage was that his mother had practically jumped on the chance and told him that – if he wanted his privacy – he had to clean his room. And he hadn't known how hard that work really was._

_But anyways, that all was meaning that there was someone uninvited in his room. It could be __Gabriella, of course, but knowing her, she would probably stay downstairs with his mom to chat with her while he was still showering. So it couldn't be her either. Well, that was interesting. Who else could it be? Who else would his mother let in without asking if he knew her beforehand? He didn't know, but he intended on finding out as soon as possible. _

_So, not bothering to slowly come in, he threw his door open, revealing a blonde girl standing in front of his bedside table. What the hell? The girl, having turned around, as she had heard the door handle being pushed, smiled kind of seductively at him and winked. __Troy was sure that he had never seen her before. Forgetting that he was only in a towel, he made a few steps into the room, questioning her: "Uh, who are you, pray tell?" He gazed at her in a rude manner, but who was he to care if she had barged into his room without even asking him for permission._

_The blonde girl didn't even seem to be offended. "Tiara Rutherford. I'm in your German class. Don't think you've ever noticed me before." Well then, what was the point if she came to him? He usually didn't want to notice the people he didn't notice. And even if he had noticed her before, there still was no reason for her to pay him a visit. "And what are you doing here? To the best of my knowledge our German project is no partner project, is it? I certainly would remember if we had assigned partners." He really didn't understand. What was she doing here? _

"_Oh, no, no! We're not doing the project together. I came here because I thought we could do something else together." Tiara suggestively said to him, settling down on his__ bed. It was only now that Troy noticed how short her outfit was. Within two seconds he had figured out why she had come here. And he couldn't help but laugh out loud. She certainly wasn't thinking …, she couldn't be. This was just ludicrous. How old was she? Fifteen? Sixteen? Not older than him if she was in his German class. How could you be that debauched at that age?_

_Whatever it was… it wasn't only that. Tiara wasn't just depraved; __Troy got the impression that she also was dumb. How could you misinterpret someone who was laughing at you for a suggestion? You certainly didn't think he was keen on the idea, did you? Troy didn't know when he would do something like that, but he did know that he wouldn't do it that early and above all certainly not with some random girl who just happened to fall down to his feet and kiss them. _

_However, Tiara didn't seem to get the message. She stood up again and approached him at a fast pace. "Come on, you know you want it." Wow, this was bold. __Troy shook his head in disbelieve and also to signal her that she was thinking the wrong thing. And although he couldn't express his disgust any better, the blonde didn't care. Reaching out for him, she pressed herself into him and tried to kiss him. _

_Shoving her away with full force, __Troy took about five steps backwards, looking at her with an unreadable face. She nauseated him. She had to know he had a girlfriend. Heck, everyone in this freaking school knew that he was going out with Gabriella Montez. And, happy or not, until now that had been respected by everybody, so Troy didn't know how to react to Tiara._

_Needing space to think, he shot her a stern look, demanding her to stay in here while he would be out to pop on some clothing. Grabbing his blue jeans from a chair nearby, he went out off his room, his eyes never leaving the now dumbfounded looking girl. His eyes, however, seemed to have a spiriting effect on the blonde, seeing as she lit up a__s she met his gazing blue ones._

_Troy__ once again shook his head. He was dreaming or something like that, this couldn't be real. Hastily stripping over his jeans, he noticed that he had forgotten his shirt, but couldn't care less at the moment. Tiara had already seen him with less clothing than trousers, so a shirt wasn't going to make any difference. Had he just known how much of a difference it would make._

_Entering his room hesitantly again, he detected for the first time that his cell phone wasn't lying on his nightstand, but on his bed. Hadn't he placed it on the little table? He was sure that he would never lay it on his bed. He had broken his last one on accident, because he had thrown it on his bed, forgotten that he had done so and laid down in the evening, directly on his phone. His parents hadn't been too happy and so he had taken to be careful with his new one. But what the hell could Tiara have done with his cell phone? There was no reason why she should have used it. Shrugging, he thought to himself that she could have looked at it and then misplaced it after doing so. He didn't blame her for it; after all it was the latest model._

_So, riveting on the blonde again, he deliberated what he should do with her. To throw her out would be the best option, but that was really rude and as much she would have deserved it, he couldn't bring it over him. Trying to explain things to her? Could work, he wasn't sure, but it was worth a try. Carefully approaching the girl, who seemed to be lost, he opened his mouth to start with the explaining: "Look, Tiara, you know that this is ridiculous, don't you? You're barely sixteen and you're trying to get me to sleep with you? Not to be rude or anything, but that's really, really dumb."_

_Desperately trying to search for words how to explain this anymore, he didn't even think about him being shirtless and he also missed the voices ringing through the house. Tiara, though, had been waiting to hear them, recognizing one of them as __Gabriella's. Smirking satisfied, for she had reached her goal, she took two steps forward, so she was standing directly in front of Troy. Perplexed by her actions, Troy looked at her astonished, before being pulled into a stormy kiss. What the hell? Hadn't he just tried to break it to her that this wouldn't be happening?_

_He was so shocked that he didn't find the strength to push her back. Elated by this, Tiara put her hands on his abs, rubbing them up and down. This brought __Troy back to his senses. Detaching his lips from hers just in time, he couldn't manage to get her hands off of him, as the door banged open. He froze in shock. Turning around very, very slowly - not wanting to see what he thought was happening - he came face to face with his girlfriend, Gabriella. A very shocked and hurt Gabriella._

_Starring at him and Tiara behind him, her eyes went bid and immediately filled with tears. Finally pushing Tiara fully off of him, __Troy raised his hand to grab for Gabriella's arm, to make her stay and let him explain, but the brunette wasn't having it. Casting one last look at him, eyes filled with hurt and anger, she whirled around and made a run out of the house. Troy shot one fired look at the blonde standing behind him, a grin playing around her lips, and started to sprint after his girlfriend, not even caring to put on a shirt._

_There was no way he would let her go the way she intended to. "__Gabriella!", he shouted, already out of the house, seeing her running down the street, face in her hands. Oh God, hopefully she wouldn't be run over by a car before he got to her. He knew she was crying, he knew how much she was hurt, because he felt the same pain burning inside him. "Gabriella!" Using all his strength, he managed to get directly behind her, grabbing her arm and swinging her around, so she was more or less facing him._

_Struggling, __Gabriella did all in her power to break free from his grasp, but he was way stronger than her. Holding his dead-pan grip around her elbow, he fought to make her stand still, to listen to him, but there was no way Gabriella was doing that. "Let go of me, Troy!", she demanded, tears freely running down her cheeks, her voice breaking, but still filled with venom and loathing. It hurt Troy so much to see her like this and to know that he was the reason. "Let me go! I want to never see you again! Search for another girl you can fool, for all I care even Amber or that other bitch back in your room, but I'll never care again, I swear!"_

_She couldn't believe that he had actually lied to her on the phone, saying he would play basketball with his friends and instead go and cheat on her. He could see her feelings in her eyes, breaking her heart into pieces, and he couldn't do anything about it. "Ris, please let me expl…" She simply cut him off. "Don't talk to me, __Bolton! And it's Gabriella to you. I'm not going to let you call me Ris any longer!" And with those last words, she turned around and finally wriggled free from his grasp, escaping him, running through his fingers like sand on the beach._

_He stood still, knowing that it was useless to run after her again. Following her with looks until she had vanished around the corner, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. Damn it, how could he have been so stupid? How could he already have managed to loose the best thing that had ever happened to him in his young life? He didn't know. And coming to that cognizance hurt more than he could believe. He had lost __Gabriella for a reason he didn't even grasp fully._

_So he stood still, his feet stuck against the pavement, and loosing the hope of __Gabriella returning to him with every minute that went by. It was only after five minutes that he realised that he hadn't a shirt on. The cold wind blowing against his chest, he finally turned around, noticing an old man standing behind him, who obviously had been watching the whole scene unfold._

_Taking in the sight of a young man, trying to hold his girlfriend – or, better, ex-girlfriend – back, he cocked his eyebrows. "You didn't try anything on with her, did you?" He obviously hadn't a very good opinion of today's youth and a young man shirtless on the street only seemed to confirm his persuasion. __Troy was shocked: "Hell, no! I'd never do something like that!" He looked defensive, but the man was still looking like he was pondering if he should call the police or leave it be. Casting one last look at the street corner where he had gotten the last look on Gabriella, Troy sighed heavily, strolling out of the street and back to his house, before the man could actually call the police._

_*_

Troy had to really hold himself back; otherwise he would have buried his face in his hands. But that wasn't going to help anything, so he didn't do it. But what should he do on the other side? He didn't know, but he could once again try to explain to her. However, that hadn't gone well the last times he had tried to do it.

*

_It was two weeks after __Gabriella had found Troy and Tiara in his room and until now she had blocked every chance for him to speak with her. He supposed that she had told Taylor and Sharpay what had happened, because they had obviously taken her side, holding him back from her whenever they saw him approaching her. And they were good at it, he had to admit. Especially Sharpay, she could scare the wits out of you._

_But that didn't restrain __Troy from trying even harder. This was Gabriella it was all about and he didn't intend on letting her go so easily. He had to speak to her and he had to do it now. So he had screwed up his courage and approached the girls' table at lunch time. Usually they had sat together for lunch, but since the incident boys and girls had been separated, for Gabriella didn't want to be near him in a distance of twenty metres._

_But this time it was going to be different. He would talk to her and everything would be alright again. At least that was what he was trying to tell himself. Walking over to the table, his courage grew smaller and smaller. Swallowing hard, he tried to compose himself for what was to come. He reckoned that he would have to get past __Sharpay and Taylor first, but to his big surprise, it wasn't that way. _

_Looking up and seeing him coming, __Taylor whispered something to Sharpay. Troy didn't know what exactly it was, but it had to have something to do with him coming, because shortly after he was confronted with one of Sharpay's famous glares. Uh oh, didn't look to good for him. But surprisingly the two girls excused themselves from the table and left the cafeteria, but not without shooting him a warning look._

_With a shrug, __Troy picked up his pace to get over to his ex-girlfriend. He couldn't worry about the reason they let him speak with her, he had to talk to Gabriella. And it was urgent. And maybe… maybe they letting him talk to her meant that she was ready to talk to him! It wasn't likely, but everybody could dream, couldn't they? _

_But his hopes were getting crashed as soon as he had actually reached the table. Apparently not wanting to look at him, __Gabriella kept her head down and only told him in an emotionless voice: "Don't speak to me, don't try to apologize and don't sit down. I don't want to hear you, see you or, even worse, feel your body next to mine and I would really appreciate it if you just went lost!"_

_Her words stung hard, but he wasn't going to let them get to him. Instead he did exactly what __Gabriella had told him not to do. He sat down and started talking. "Okay, listen, I know you don't want to, but this is important!" He paused, hoping for her to look at him, but she didn't do him the favour. So he just went on: "I … didn't … cheat … on … you, Gabriella!", he emphasized every single word. "You have to believe me!" By now his voice had gotten desperate. But his ex-girlfriend didn't care._

_Looking up and taking her first look on him since two weeks, __Troy could make out the dark circles under her eyes, making her look like she hadn't gotten much sleep in the last days. Which she probably hadn't. And that made Troy only feel even worse, if that was possible. "I don't believe you and I won't! I know what I saw and I'm not believing a liar and a cheater. So you can spare your words, Bolton. I hate you and I want nothing to do with you, are we clear?" Her voice was crystal clear and her tone strong, though really cold._

_Troy__ froze. She hated him? She couldn't hate him! How was he supposed to go on with life if she hated him? She was half of his life; she couldn't just say she hated him! It was like stabbing him and turning the knife in his back and it hurt just as much. He bit his lower lip, desperately trying to get along with what she had said, only to find that it was impossible. And slowly there was anger building up inside him. _

_How could she just not listen? Didn't she have any faith in their relationship? Didn't she have any trust in him? Was she willing to just give up and go on with life as though nothing had ever happened between them? As if they had never been an item? Well, if she insisted on it, then he would do the same. "Alright then, I suppose this is it?", he asked, his voice growing cold and dark. "We're going from being a couple directly to being enemies? Hating each other? Works for me, … __Montez!" The last word being spit out of his mouth was filled with the same venom she had used when she had run away from him two weeks ago._

_He looked her sharp in the eye, and could have sworn that he saw a flicker of hurt crossing her look, but it was gone only milliseconds later. He was hallucinating. "__Bolton!" Now her tone matched his, her glare was just as intense as his. In one swift motion, Gabriella stood up and left him sitting there, feeling coldness fill his whole body. In this moment he had lost Gabriella Montez, his best friend and girlfriend in one. _

*

Troy sighed. He knew he had to try it anyways if he ever wanted to come on good terms with Gabriella again. "Gabriella, I didn't cheat on you. How many times do I have to repeat that until you believe me? She set us up; she sent you the text you got. I never wrote you should come over to mine!" Gabriella laughed wryly. "Of course you didn't! You didn't want your lie to be busted, did you? To say the truth, I'm glad she sent it. If she hadn't, I would have never known the truth about you and your lies." Troy shook his head. Already resigned, he tried to convince her one last time: "Damn it, there wasn't anything to be busted. She tricked me, she tricked you, she tricked us! I never meant to hurt you, Gabriella!"

Gabriella didn't believe a word he said. "Oh, of course, and saying I'd be a prude, who wouldn't understand if there were other girls liking you doesn't mean to be hurting either, or what? Even if you didn't intend on hurting me: that certainly was the best way to do so!" Troy starred at her in utter shock. "You heard that? How the hell?" Gabriella just laughed irritated. "Oh, of course you didn't think I would ever hear it, did you? You thought you could fool me with your pathetic tries to apologize and saying you didn't cheat? Well, then you thought wrong! I did hear your words and even if I didn't… Taylor was standing right next to Chad as you said it. You don't think she wouldn't have told me if I hadn't known it already?" Troy grew white as if he had seen a ghost. That really hadn't been his cleverest move.

*

_After that conversation, __Troy had lost every faith in them ever getting back together. And now he saw no reason to dwell on the past. Moving on as fast as possible was his motto and he did everything he could to fulfil it. Gabriella and he had become enemies and both of them fulfilled their new roles with perfection. Mocking, harassing, insulting… they were really good at in when they were both into it. And there wasn't a day when they weren't into it._

_While they seemed to have no problems with the new situation, their friends seemed to have a harder time. Being torn between two of their friends, they tried to find a compromise, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. At some point eventually, they had managed to arrange themselves. And so there was hardly a time at school when more than three of the previously inseparable group were standing together._

_But sometimes it just happened, and so it was on a Friday about one month after __Troy and Gabriella's break-up that Troy was standing together with Chad, Taylor, Sharpay and Zeke. Still anxious not to mention Gabriella around him, there had been some really awkward silences between them, whenever it seemed inevitable to mention her. And finally Troy was getting fed up with it._

_Eventually he exploded. "God, why can't you just be normal around me? I'm not the one having a problem with __Montez' name mentioned, she's the one being uncomfortable with mine. So please, don't feel the need to shut up whenever you are going to mention her. I've gotten her message that she doesn't want anything to do with me. It's not my problem that she's a prude who can't deal with the fact that there are other girls out there that could possibly like me!" After that announcement it was silent._

_Nobody knew what to say after it and nobody knew that __Gabriella was standing right behind the corner, listening to them. She hadn't intended on spying on them or anything, no, she was just in search for Taylor and Sharpay, because they had to plan the foundation of the new dancing squad, which the principle Mr. Matsui had given permission to for the new school year._

_And now here she was, having to listen to __Troy saying she was a prude. Awesome! It was exactly what had been missing in her life: getting insulted that way. No, it wasn't enough that she was already miserable enough without Troy making it even worse, no he had to pick at her every time he got the chance to. Tears starting to get into her eyes, she turned around on her heels, not wanting to speak to anybody any longer. The dancing quad could wait. She wasn't ready to face anyone in this condition. And once again Gabriella Montez was devastated, just because of a boy getting to her._

*

Gabriella shook her head at the memory. "You really blew it, you know? If I had believed you under any circumstances, then it was gone by the time I heard you saying that. This is something you really messed up, Troy!"

**So, how did you like this one? The secret's revealed, not only to you, but to the whole school. What are they going to do with that? Anyone has got any ideas? Well, you'll see in the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought about Sophomore Year. Do you like what happened? Do you not like it? How many of you are wishing Tiara to hell right now? :) If you want to tell me, I'd really appreciate you pressing that little button down there… and I still haven't figured out the colour… **

**Until next time, **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	9. Back to bedlam

**Heya, guys! I'm back again with a new chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds' and I hope you'll all enjoy it. Isn't it great that this is a regular update? Yeah, I thought so, too… it was extremely surprising. But, as it turns out, you can't do much when you're stuck in your chair, barely able to walk, so suddenly I've got lots of free time. I**** swear, muscle ache does not get better when you run for ninety minutes without a break after you've gotten it by running for fifty minutes without a break. And all of that untrained, of course. But it was a test in P.E. and so it had to be done… oh well. **

**So, I wanted to thank all of you who reviewed for the last chapter… and those who reviewed the one before that… and before that… and so on. Thanks for supporting me with this story. It means much. So this chapter is dedicated to you.**

**Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Troy sighed. He knew he had to try it anyways if he ever wanted to come on good terms with Gabriella again. "Gabriella, I didn't cheat on you. How many times do I have to repeat that until you believe me? She set us up; she sent you the text you got. I never wrote you should come over to mine!" Gabriella laughed wryly. "Of course you didn't! You didn't want your lie to be busted, did you? To say the truth, I'm glad she sent it. If she hadn't, I would have never known the truth about you and your lies." Troy shook his head. Already resigned, he tried to convince her one last time: "Damn it, there wasn't anything to be busted. She tricked me, she tricked you, she tricked us! I never meant to hurt you, Gabriella!"_

_Gabriella didn't believe a word he said. "Oh, of course, and saying I'd be a prude, who wouldn't understand if there were other girls liking you doesn't mean to be hurting either, or what? Even if you didn't intend on hurting me: that certainly was the best way to do so!" Troy starred at her in utter shock. "You heard that? How the hell?" Gabriella just laughed irritated. "Oh, of course you didn't think I would ever hear it, did you? You thought you could fool me with your pathetic tries to apologize and saying you didn't cheat? Well, then you thought wrong! I did hear your words and even if I didn't… Taylor was standing right next to Chad as you said it. You don't think she wouldn't have told me if I hadn't known it already?" Troy grew white as if he had seen a ghost. That really hadn't been his cleverest move._

…

_Gabriella shook her head at the memory. "You really blew it, you know? If I had believed you under any circumstances, then it was gone by the time I heard you saying that. This is something you really messed up, Troy!"_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

Chapter nine – Back to bedlam

"You messed up!" The words were stuck in Troy's head, as he was repeating them over and over. They had definitely shocked him. It wasn't that he didn't know he had messed up, it was hearing Gabriella say it that brought him to really being hit with that perception. And that was something Troy had never wanted to happen. Because, in his opinion, messing up anything in his life wasn't an option. And for that it really hurt to know that he had done it, indeed.

And if it could get even worse, he had messed up the best thing ever happened to him. Only that he had tried to forget that for the past years. But now, being reminded again, and even by Gabriella herself, he didn't want to forget. No, now for the first time in two years, he really wanted to work things out with her. He didn't know why. Why now or why at all, just plainly why. And he also didn't know if Gabriella was ready to work things out between them. Seeing as she stood right there in front of him, eyes still filled with fury and hurt, he somehow doubted it.

And he was right. She didn't want to work it out, make it up and then go on with life as if nothing had ever happened. Now it was her that just wanted to forget. Forget and never be reminded again. Too bad that life doesn't always go the way you want it to. And too bad, that your best friends sometimes decide to stab you in the back because they feel it necessary to do so. Unknowingly, Gabriella glared furiously at the boy seeming at a loss for words, turning around to Taylor, not foreboding what was to come.

Unfortunately, she had missed the looks that had been exchanged between her two best friends and their boyfriends for the time she had relieved all those – good and bad – memories with Troy. Sharpay, once being the smarter one out of Taylor and her herself, had sensed the major tension hanging between the two more or less fighting teenagers and immediately started to make up a plan to get the two of them to once have a normal conversation, with no pupils lusting for new gossip being around. If there was anyone who knew what to do to manoeuvre Gabriella into doing something she usually wouldn't do over her dead body, then it was her.

And so it was a big surprise for Gabriella, as she didn't find her best friends standing a few feet away from her, but directly in her way. "Where do you think are you going?" Sharpay asked, showing all her perfect white teeth in a big smile. Gabriella starred at her in shock. "Did you not just witness the whole scene here? Where do you think I'm going? In position to dance with that jerk? Certainly not. I'm not doing this, Shar. I'm really sorry, because it'll be not only me who gets embarrassed but all of us, but I can't. I really can't, I know I wouldn't be able to stand more than five minutes in his presence."

Each of her words cut Troy like a knife. So, she did not only despise him, she hated him, he made her sick. That wasn't exactly what he had been going for. In fact, he had gotten his hopes up for them to find a peaceful solution, but apparently that wasn't possible. He couldn't blame her, though, it did seem as if he had slept with Tiara – he realised that he actually did remember her name – and if he were in Gabriella's shoes, he probably wouldn't have acted any different. Except that he might have actually listened to her explaining.

But thinking 'what if' and such wasn't going to help him here. In fact, he thought, there was nothing that could help him anymore. Unless there would be a wonder happening and he had lost his believing in wonders when he had been four years old and lost his teddy on a street. Knowing that it was dangerous to try and save him, little Troy had desperately begged God for sending a storm or something else, although there wasn't even a little breeze blowing. His teddy had lost his head, after being run over by a heavy truck. From that day on, Troy Bolton had stopped believing in wonders.

And now this situation was just as helpless as little Troy had been all those years ago. It was like their relationship was the teddy and Gabriella's opinion the breeze that wasn't coming. Only that the truck wasn't just about to run over the teddy, but their relationship had already lost its head, the truck being Tiara and her little staging. So why waiting for a wonder, if it already was too late? Troy knew that it made no sense, and therefore turned around also, speculating if he should casually walk or run out of the gym. However, who needed wonders coming from God if there were friends that had the craziest ideas?

Being stopped by his two best friends, Chad and Zeke, Troy wondered why they had evil smiles playing in their faces. He knew the look in their eyes and he didn't like it. The last time he had witnessed it had been before he had been forced to kiss Gabriella in a game of truth or dare somewhere along the time in Freshman Year. He had been head over heels for her that time and … No, Troy! He stopped himself. He really didn't want to go there. And he wouldn't have had the time to do so anyways, because by the time he had gotten to the last point, he could already feel himself being dragged out of the gym.

What the hell…? Being dragged out? Wasn't that a bit … pathetic? He had wanted to escape the gym anyways, so what was the use of helping him? He hadn't lost his ability to walk, had he? Of course, he did feel like being stabbed, but that didn't mean that he was actually bleeding to death. He could walk by himself, verily, he didn't need any help. But what was the use in complaining either? It wasn't like it was the wrong direction and it didn't make any difference to it. At least he thought so.

Had he known that he wasn't the only one experiencing being shorn of his free will for a short amount of time, he might have thought about it twice. But nobody had eyes in the back of their head, and this time Troy Bolton wasn't making any difference. Otherwise he would have seen Taylor and Sharpay grabbing Gabriella at her arms and forcing her to come along with them as well. The first few seconds, Gabriella Montez was stunned. Never before had someone dared to drag her along, especially not after she had gone off like that. But here she was, seeming to have lost her own will.

But certainly not for long. If Troy couldn't see her, he could without doubt hear her. Giving a high pitched scream no one had ever heard from her before, she tried to wriggle free from their grasp, but unsuccessfully. The last time she had tried to break away from somebody who had hold onto her didn't bring very good memories with it. As long as she could remember it had been Troy, trying to get her to stay with him. And she remembered only to well how heartbroken she had been in the aftermath of that situation.

Understandable that she didn't want a repeat of it. But there was no protest being helpful. If a girl had something set in her mind, then there was no way you could keep her off from whatever she was going to do. And anyone who could think would get that if there were two girls determined to do something then there was no way to not see your hopes of escape dashed. And Taylor and Sharpay were kind of paradigms for people with an enormous tough will.

So it wasn't a surprise for anyone that Gabriella couldn't win against her to best friends. And though some pitied her deeply for that what was to come – it was obvious, really -, no one made a move to stop what was going on. All of the present girls and boys knew that there was no case Gabriella and Troy would work together if they couldn't find a way to dissolve their problems. And the only way to do so was … talking.

And if they didn't want to, then someone had to beat them to it. And it was obviously that everyone was set out to do exactly that. Force them to talk to each other. So Chad and Zeke, who had had to bring up a lot of fortitude to keep dragging Troy out, because he had refused to take a single step after Gabriella's scream, wanting to know what was the matter, finally managed to get him through the doors of the gym. Waiting there for the three girls – Gabriella with wide eyes, already supposing what the other four had in mind –, they did their best to keep Troy in place and not look back.

They knew that, if he saw Gabriella, he would get tense again, declining to even look at her, not to mention speak. Her comment had hurt him more than he had shown, but what for were best friends, if they didn't know how you felt? And that talking to each other was necessary … there was no doubt in that. Too bad, that Gabriella didn't see things that way. Seeing that the three boys had stopped in front of the gym, she once again started an attempt to break away. "Come on, guys, you can't want to make me do this. This is uncalled for and you know it!"

Her friends weren't having any of it. Releasing the huffing girl in their middle only when they had reached the boys, they ignored the shocked looks and protest from the broken-up couple by going inside again, leaving them to be alone. Exchanging one look with Troy, Gabriella slowly bit her lower lip, mind racing. Glancing sideways, she decided to just go back in. The door wasn't closed and there was no one to hold her back. At least that was what she thought. Making two steps in the direction that meant safety, she froze dead in her tracks, as she felt a strong grip at her elbow.

It was Troy. Of course it was Troy, when had there ever been another? Both in a real relationship and in holding her back from doing something she really wanted to. Neither of them she really appreciated. Giving a jerk, she tried to free herself and again – it wasn't working. _Of course, girl, what were you thinking? Freeing yourself just isn't your speciality. Maybe you should just give up on it. _Her thoughts nearly made Gabriella laugh out loud. Not that it would be adequate, really.

But nevertheless, it was too late anyways. It wasn't only Troy holding her back, no. Taylor had become aware of the fact that they had left the door open and scampered over as fast as she could to get them closed. Settling on ignoring Troy, Gabriella shouted directly at the gym doors: "Okay, guys, whatever it is that you're planning, it isn't working and it won't be working. You could just let me in again and we could spare us a whole lot of discomposure." She heard Troy snort beside her, but she chose to ignore it. Instead she listened to Sharpay's screeching voice, managing to be heard halfway through the gym and the wooden doors.

"Dream on, Gabby. You two need to talk and you need to do it urgently. Otherwise we'll loose that damn contest. One that you are responsible for, may I add!" Gabriella groaned. She just _had _to have mentioned that, hadn't she? "You're willing to see me suffer just because of a freaking contest?" She tried balk-talking, but it didn't work, for no one came to let her in again. For Troy, however, that comment worked very well. Well, not exactly in the meant way, but it did manage to get him worked up at least.

Jerking her away from the door and spinning her around so she had to face him, he tightened his grip around her arm, so that it nearly hurt. Shocked by his rushed actions, Gabriella didn't even have the chance to open her mouth to scream at him, as he already swamped her with a heated oration: "Suffering? Very funny, Gabriella, very funny. You think you're the only one having to go through this, don't you? Newsflash: You're not! You don't think I could be hurt because of some of your stupid comments? Well, I am. You may believe it or not, but I do have feelings. And I'm getting tired of you always walking all over me, just because you didn't want to bloody listen! Hell, do you even care about anyone else but you? Can you just once think of someone else? Of me, for example?

It freaking is not my fault that we're in this situation. Or better, it is, but certainly not entirely. You could have just listened back then, but you chose not to. Why? Because you didn't trust me? Because you didn't have any faith in our relationship? Of course you didn't. And that's definitely not my fault!" Troy didn't even notice that he was shouting at her, that he was frightening her. All he could think about at the moment was the fact that she had walked over him all these times and he had simply let her. And he didn't intend in doing that again.

Gabriella stood there, feet stuck against the earth, not even daring to breath. She watched him exploding, releasing all of the feelings he had bottled up over all the previous years, screaming at her and accusing her. And she was as scared as never before in all of the situations she had undergone with him. Never before had he screamed at her like this, never before had he been this angry with her. Naturally he had been upset with her from time to time – you couldn't be enemies if you got along too well -, but he had never been this way.

And that frightened her more than she would ever admit. Starring up at him with big eyes, she watched him calm down a little, finally realising that he had had increased his pressure at her elbow to a nearly impossible high. It was a wonder that she hadn't screamed out in pain. Hastily loosening his grip at her, he bit his own lip, not believing he had done this. He had told her how he felt and he had really done it, in a way that he never wanted to go again. Because he had scared Gabriella. He could see it in her eyes, which were now looking up at him with the most hurt gaze he had ever seen.

And he felt ashamed like never before in his entire life. How could he? How could he have gone and screamed at her like that, frightened her like that? It was no surprise she despised him, after all he had done. And it wouldn't be a bigger surprise if she would now take to downright hating him and leave him standing here this instant. At least that was what he deserved in his opinion. However, Gabriella didn't once think about leaving. No, she couldn't, even if she had wanted to. Her knees were way too weak to do anything else but managing to hold her up.

Searching for support, she leant herself back against the gym wall, Troy's hand flipping in her direction, in an attempt to steady her. One angry look from her, though, and his hand had vanished as if it had never been there. Reclining against the wall, she tried to compose herself, not even looking once in Troy's direction, the boy standing in front of her like a lost puppy who had been abandoned. "So you want to blame this on me?", she asked him, her voice shaking from the even sustained shock. He closed his eyes. She hadn't listened to him.

There it was where he was wrong. She had indeed listened, but she was still trying to work out what he had just said. And right now that wasn't so easy. "Don't think I didn't listen!" Now her voice seemed cold, even distant. "I know that you partly blamed yourself – correctly, if I may add –", she threw one look at him, but that said more than enough. She still didn't plan on ever forgiving him. "But you also have the guts to say that I, too, am to blame. Wrong, mister. I didn't listen, so? Don't tell you would have listened to me after I had cheated on you – which I'd never have done by the way. No, no, no, don't go shaking your head, you know I'm right!"

And she was. Troy had to admit that maybe he wouldn't have listened. But he hadn't cheated on her, bloody hell! Why couldn't he get that through to her? Ah, of course, because he had only mentioned it around ten-thousand times beforehand! No reason to maybe try and think about it! He shook his head. He didn't like sarcasm. It didn't go well with most of the things he said. Anyways, how to convince Gabriella to let him say what he wanted to? "Alright, maybe I wouldn't have!", he softened his tone. "But you could have let me explain it after you had calmed down!"

Gabriella winced. "Explain? What is there left to explain? You got bored of me, didn't have the guts to tell me, instead lied to my face and cheated on me with a sluttish cheerleader! That's a clear message, don't you think?" By now her look was speaking for itself. The tears glistening in her eyes showed that she wasn't angry anymore, she was upset and disappointed. It had been the first time she had actually said it to his face, the first time that she had told him how she really felt. And in her opinion she could have done without it. Turning around and facing the door again, she snatched for the door handle.

"Please, don't go." The words were spoken so softly that they were barely audible and if there had been a breeze blowing, it would have most definitely carried them away, so that they stayed unheard, but it wasn't windy. And Gabriella heard them perfectly well. Again she froze. It wasn't a demand, it was begging. Troy Bolton was begging her to stay. He was begging her to let him explain. And she really didn't know if she should let him. What was the use? _But what's the use if you go now and run away again and you go several other years with hating him? _A little voice inside her head told her to stay. And Gabriella Montez was always one to listen to her head. So she stayed.

*

Inside the gym, everyone was silent, trying to listen to the conversation going on outside. And most of the time it wasn't that difficult, seeing as their screaming was sure to be heard all over the school grounds. And the yelling wasn't pretty, especially concerning the content. No one really felt comfortable with hearing the feelings of the two most popular students of East High displayed to them. And most wished it would go away, which it did soon enough. After Gabriella's accusation against Troy, they hadn't heard another word from them. And that didn't really leave them untroubled.

Slowly, Chad approached Taylor. "You don't think one of them has gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick and now they are strangling each other, which would be an explanation as to why they're not screaming anymore?" Taylor looked at him with narrowed eyebrows. "There was nothing to get hold of the wrong end of the stick, Chad. To me it was all pretty clear, wasn't it? I mean there was nothing you could be mistaken about." Chad looked at her doubtfully. "You really think so?" Taylor just nodded. Sometimes it was a pity that Chad didn't comprehend more of the current events.

"And I'm sure they are not strangling each other, honey!", she added just in time, before Chad could open his mouth to ask about that part again. Curious, he closed his mouth again. After trying to think about it, he asked: "How did you know what I was going to say?" Taylor shook her head. Explaining wouldn't do any good right now, she supposed. So she just kissed him lightly on the lips and answered: "Because I love you." Chad started to beam, his worries already forgotten again. "I love you, too!"

*

Hesitantly turning around, Gabriella let her eyes linger on Troy, questions obvious in her eyes. She didn't need to ask them, he already knew what she wanted to know. Seeing the tears still in her eyes, he wished nothing more than to wipe them away, but he knew she would leave as soon as he only made so much as an attempt to do it. So he resorted to starting explaining instead. "I didn't cheat on you, Gabriella, you have to believe me!" The desperation was visible in his eyes, but still she wasn't sure about whether to believe him or not.

He could lie, he could say anything and she wouldn't be able to prove it, because Tiara, the girl he had or hadn't slept with, had moved away only two weeks after the incident. So there was no one to ask, but Gabriella was already confident that she would have gotten a confirmation of Troy cheating on her. True, Tiara had never had the audacity to actually vulgarize the story all over the school, telling someone about what had happened, so no one knew about it. But there had been comment slipped to Gabriella by her, tearing at her already broken heart and verifying everything that she had seen. So there really was no reason to believe him. She was ready to shake her head to show him she didn't believe him, as he spoke on.

"You've gotta believe me! I didn't cheat; I know that it looked like it, but I didn't! She set me up, she set you up! She sent you the text; I should have known she was up to something like that after I had noticed that my cell phone was lying on my bed. I really didn't do anything. _We _didn't do anything!" Troy starred at her intently while he was talking, but at the same time he didn't know why he was telling her all this. It was not as if she would trust him anyways, he could see her disbelieve being displayed freely in her eyes.

Starting to pace up and down, Gabriella restrained herself from looking at him: she knew that she would end up crying if she did. She hated him messing with her head, making her feel this way and she hated herself not being able to do anything about it. And she couldn't stand that Troy had once again repeated what he had told her all along. Why couldn't he get that she was over it? Why couldn't he get that she had seen it? Seen it with her own eyes and there was nothing he could do to take things back to square one. "Hell, Troy! Why don't you get it? I saw it! I saw her with you; you were half naked, for God's sake! And she was kissing you with her hands on your chest! That's not precisely what I would be calling 'doing nothing'!"

"But that's my point! That's exactly my point! _She _was kissing _me_, not the other way round! Hell, I didn't even know why she was there in my room in first place; she just started making suggestions after she had seen me come in with only a towel…" He bit on his tongue, before he could speak on any further. Damn it, as long as he was concerned that was a fact that Gabriella hadn't known … until now. And that only, because he couldn't freaking think before he opened his mouth. And that Gabriella had really not known about the towel part was pretty obvious.

Her jaw hanging wide open in pure shock, she starred at him incredulous. That was something she definitely hadn't expected to hear. "She saw you in only a towel? To a time we – you and me – were going out? Oh my freaking god, that's something I didn't need and didn't want to know about, thank you very much!"

And she didn't even want to imagine how it had come that he had been in his blue jeans and not in the towel anymore when she had found them practically making-out. Urgh! She really didn't want to have to puke, but that thought simply made her dizzy in her head. Could they actually have … _Stop, Gabriella! Don't go there! _A frightened voice inside her head screamed at her and she shook her head, trying to get the sickening idea out of it. Troy, however, didn't seem to catch her disgusted, shocked face. Encouraged that she hadn't already walked away after he had revealed that Tiara had seen him in less clothes than Gabriella ever had, he dared to make a joke.

"You're not jealous, are you, Montez? Don't tell me you're mad, because _you _didn't get to see me in that. You could have just said something back then." Sometimes that boy really had the worst timing ever for his jokes, because apparently it was much too early for those. He didn't see her hand coming, but he could feel it all the better. "You're a pig, Bolton! And did I forget to mention an egoistical jerk, which's so big-headed that it's a surprise he actually fits through a door frame?" Troy raised his hand to his stinging cheek. "And did _I _mention that your hand's hanging really too loose lately?"

His voice had gotten cold and distant again, nothing reminded of the joking manner he had spoken in only seconds before any more. Although he couldn't really blame her for slapping him again. He had, after all, made a joke about a serious matter – serious to the both of them at least. And he knew that she was more than touchy about it, so practically it was his own fault. But that knowledge didn't lessen the pain he was feeling right now, both physically and emotionally. And it certainly didn't reduce the anger that was already building up again – anger coupled with guilt. And those two feelings didn't go well together as he had already learned in previous experience.

Gabriella stiffened. Troy was right and she knew it. She shouldn't have done that. Violence wasn't going to solve anything and resorting to it wouldn't get her anywhere. But before she could possibly even think about apologizing to him, someone stepped in and it was neither one of the pupils from inside the gym nor anyone Gabriella wanted to see at the moment. And as it seemed, Troy wasn't so happy about the appearing person, either. "Oh my god, sweetie, are you alright? I saw that bitch slapping you, did she hurt you?" Gabriella groaned inwardly at the whiny, high-pitched voice.

Amber had obviously been watching them and finally decided to step in, after she had felt that Troy was in a life-threatening situation and needed her help. _Of course, _Gabriella thought angrily, _Troy couldn't defend himself, no, he needed a cheerleader to help him out, especially the one whose biggest concern was not to break herself a fingernail. _Had that girl no sense? But before she could question Amber's sanity any further, she already found herself being the newest target.

Whirling around, Amber pointed her finger at Gabriella. "You! How could you have possibly dared to touch him? How could you have dared to hurt him?" Gabriella nearly snorted. Would she have been happier if she had kissed him? Which, of course, wasn't an option and would never be again – probably. Gabriella already threw an irritated look at Troy, ready to blow up at Amber and give her a piece of her mind, but obviously Amber wasn't finished with her little defence speech. "And what the hell are you doing out here anyways, speaking to him? You lost that right to do that after you dumped him back in Sophomore Year!"

Gabriella couldn't believe her. Since when do you need permission or the right to speak to someone? Especially if that certain someone wanted to talk to you in first place? And if she recalled correctly she had have every right to dump him back in Sophomore Year. It wasn't as if it was her that had been unfaithful. "You don't know what happened, so you don't deserve a say in this, Amber. It's none of your damn business, so shut the hell up!", Gabriella exclaimed, her nerves not longer sustaining Amber's whiny voice and her self-aggrandising attitude. Troy made a step forward, but stayed put on second thought. Maybe intervening wasn't the best idea right now. Gabriella was already fuming and he didn't need another one of her clangourous slaps.

But soon he noticed that it wasn't necessary to step in. Both Amber and Gabriella seemed to get on with the situation and nobody intended on backing up. "I don't know what happened?" Amber seemed to be at a wave of triumph. 'Why?' was the only question left. "Yeah, you don't know. You weren't there!", Gabriella retorted, her cheeks turning red. It was amazing how she always seemed so calm and collected when she fought with Troy – she hadn't once been red in the face afterwards -, but couldn't seem to do it when she fought with someone else. Troy would feel honoured if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't exactly like fighting with her.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of myself now, if I were in your shoes! Of course I know what happened, the speculations were all over the school if you don't remember." Oh yeah, Gabriella just remembered to good how it had been going to school for the next three weeks after she had broken things off with Troy. But that didn't mean that the people knew what had really happened. But before she could retort, Amber already went on, chirping happily as if she wouldn't be talking about a break-up, but about her own marriage or anything.

"Oh no, don't you think I heard it from the gossip mill. No, no. I don't know if you were paying attention to that time – I don't think so, I guess you were preoccupied with other things –", she smirked evilly, "but Tiara was one of my closest friends before she moved away. And you can believe me, she told me everything. And trust me, to say she was enthralled by Troy's kisses would be the understatement of the century!" Amber smirked, seeing Gabriella falter at her words. But she wasn't the only one to notice that the brunette was hurting.

Troy did, too. Well, that wasn't a big wonder, for he had observed her quite intently to step in before things could get too nasty. And to say that he was angry would really be the understatement of the century. "Amber?" Troy dared to shim in for the first time since she had arrived. "You do realise you're dumped, don't you?" He couldn't believe it. How could Amber tell Gabriella about something like that, when she _knew_ that nothing had happened between them besides that one kiss – and she had to know if Tiara really had been her best friend.

Amber, however, was shocked. "What! But, but, Troy… you can't… you won't… you wouldn't…" She couldn't seem to get a whole sentence together. But Troy could care less. "Stop stammering, you're old enough to get along with this. You'd think it's your first time getting dumped if you could see yourself. And I highly doubt that this is your first time!" He knew he was being evil, but it didn't matter to him any more. "But I'm your girlfriend!" Amber desperately searched for reasons why Troy couldn't just dump her. Gabriella rolled her eyes. So what? Even if she was – or, more correctly, had been – his girlfriend… dumping someone was the act to get rid of boy- or girlfriends. So there was no way you could reason with "I'm your girlfriend!"

Troy was thinking something along the line. And he knew that Amber was lying at the same time. "You never were my girlfriend; I would never ask someone like you out. And even if I did, I don't need a girlfriend who stabs me in the back as soon as I'm turning my back on her. Who are you to reason my ex-girlfriend into thinking I did cheat on her? I didn't and you know it. And slowly but surely I'm getting the impression that you had something to do with it."

Amber opened and closed her mouth like a fish who was trying to breathe while lying on dry land. It was a shame Gabriella didn't have her camera with her. A picture of this would be the laugh of the month. "Come on, Amber, if you don't have to say anything else it would be nice if you just went missing, alright?" She asked her, impatiently to see her leaving, trying to ignore the fact that Troy had once again said he didn't cheat on her. Slowly but surely it was ending up as a hobby of his. Amber shot her a nasty glance. "What's this gotta do with you, Montez?" Troy took over Gabriella's answer: "Nothing, Terrell,", he said mimicking her last-name-calling, "But it actually would be nice if you got lost, you know?"

Slowly it sunk in that it really was over. Amber was devastated. How could Troy Bolton, East High's golden boy and her personal favourite, just go and dump her, East High's princess and, in her opinion, most beautiful girl? Unless …, yeah unless he started to develop new feelings for East High's queen, Gabriella Montez, – not that she would agree on that. She looked at Troy, only to find him starring at Gabriella. Was she right? Did he renew his old feelings? She wasn't sure about it, but if it was true, then both of them would be in for a vicious surprise. But for now, all cases seemed lost. Throwing one last hateful look at Gabriella, Amber turned on her heel, retreating to the main building. Troy looked after her, without feeling any remorse.

After about two minutes of silence, he turned his head to his side. Gabriella was looking at him as if she saw him for the first time in two years. "What?", he asked her, voice dangerously low. "You… you … you dumped her!" She couldn't believe her eyes. Surely she was dreaming; this couldn't be happening. But to her surprise, Troy nodded off-handed. "Of course, you don't think I would be able to do anything with her, constantly knowing that she wouldn't support me if I needed some support? I mean, denouncing me in front of my ex-girlfriend is not exactly what I would be calling supportive." She nodded, astonished.

So he felt denounced? That was surprising. He hadn't seemed to be affected as she had broken up with him. But a girl belittling him let him feel exposed. Damn, she should have tried that earlier if she had just known it. Unintentionally, she let a small smile cross her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Troy. "What's so funny?", he asked, curious about the answer. "Oh, nothing except that I was thinking that I should have tried to decry you in front of some of your other ex-girlfriends. It sure would have been more of an effect than everything else that I did."

He thought for a short moment, or at least pretended to do so, before nodding solemnly. "Well, maybe you're right there." They both gave a little laugh, surprised that they were actually having a civil conversation. Both embarrassed as they noticed it, they shut up the instant the giggle came out of their mouths. Ripping their gaze away from each other both looked into another direction, Gabriella towards the ground and Troy towards the sky. For several minutes, both of them remained silent, not wanting to ruin the momentarily peace they had gotten themselves into.

"Uh," Gabriella eventually said quietly. Troy lowered his head expectantly. What was she up to now? "Do you think …" She didn't know if she should go on, so Troy nodded to signal her she should. "Do you think you would be able to help us with the dance? Just… maybe?" He looked startled. Was he dreaming? Had she actually asked him to help her? He pinched himself slightly in the arm, just making sure he wouldn't wake up any moment. But it was real. "You mean … calling a truce and help?", he inquired and she nodded.

She wasn't going to forgive him for what he had done and she did nowhere near believe him and his version of the happenings, but she knew that she was dependent on him if she wanted to win that damn contest. And after that screaming row Amber had just pulled off without bashing an eyelid, Gabriella wanted to beat her more than everything. And if that everything included going on with hating Troy, then she would abandon it for a short amount of time if she just got the help she needed.

Shyly stretching her hand out to him, she looked at him, the hope revealed by her eyes once again. Sighing, he squeezed her hand. "Truce!" It was definitely time to strike a new path and why not begin here and now? Now having taken a load off her mind, Gabriella endowed him a real smile, one that he hadn't seen for so many days when he was around her. Turning around with ease, she hammered at the gym door. "Okay, guys, time to let us in again. He'll be helping!" The happy screams that came from the inside spoke for themselves.

**Soo, guys, what do you think about this? Who of you is satisfied with the result and who isn't? Tell me if you want to make me happy… and if you want to have another regular update next week… I promise I'll really try and the chances are good, because by then all of my other tests will already have been taken and I'll have time. In the meantime, cross your thumbs for me, please, so I'll pass my tests in Latin, Maths and German. Thank you!**

**Until next time, **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	10. Enemies or lovebirds

**Heya, guys! ****Here I am again with the tenth chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds'. And I can tell you that I'm really glad this week is over and done. Because I did three tests this week and it was so not fun. I can tell everyone who doesn't live in a country where having your degree in Latin is compulsory for taking certain study paths that you should be happy about that. I don't know how many of my grade are afraid of taking these Latin exams, but heaven in hell, most of them including me certainly do. But I did it and I've got a feeling that I didn't do too bad, so it should be fine. Maths and German weren't that bad either, so I'm just relieved to have them all done.**

**So this is the chapter where I changed the dancing steps… you know, the first dance reminded me more and more of ballet and I didn't want that, so I replaced it with a kind of hip hop dancing mixed with some traditional steps, think of it as the kind of dancing shown in 'Step up', the movie. Tell me what you think about it and if you like this or the previous version better, 'kay?**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

Chapter ten – Enemies or lovebirds

In the blink of an eye, the door of the gym was opened up by Sharpay, who apparently had sneaked behind the door, to "accidentally" overhear more of their previous conversation. But obviously she had had very little of a success, for her facial expression was as curious as it had ever been. Completely clueless, she couldn't help herself but ask: "Okay, what the hell happened out here? First, you were all ready to go and kill each other off and now he's helping us? Damn, why do we always miss those mind changes?"

She looked pretty angry at herself. Gabriella, though, was rather glad that she hadn't heard anything. Conversations like that she had just had with Troy weren't to be overheard by anyone, seeing as they were more than private in her opinion. And if Sharpay had gotten the news about what had happened back in Sophomore Year – not that everyone didn't know by now Troy had cheated on her, but still… she didn't want details to be leaked. And especially not to Sharpay, the queen of East High when it came to gossip.

Troy just smirked. "We could repeat what we said outside, no problem… If it's that important to you?" He asked more than he stated, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Gabriella. Her eyes widened. He wouldn't… He couldn't… No, he certainly wouldn't dare to repeat just a single thing, would he? Looking him straight in the eyes, she wasn't really sure about it. He had always had a thing for telling some things that were too embarrassing for Gabriella and most of the times he wasn't even sorry for doing so – mostly because no one else found them disconcerting, but funny.

But this… This wasn't to be told and it definitely wasn't funny. Shooting him a stern look, she warningly shook her head, but he didn't even do so much as look at her. His gaze fully directed at Sharpay, he opened his mouth to start speaking… only to find he couldn't quite do so. Just in time, Gabriella had decided to do something about it and she had never been one to be good at thinking while being under a lot of pressure and stress. So, the first thing that came to her mind was something she'd rather not done, but what else?

Troy moved his mouth and he was sure that he was forming words with his lips and actually set them, but all that came out of his mouth was some kind of grunting and a lot of unintelligible sounds that were nowhere near whole sentences or making sense at least. Why? Because there was a rather small hand that definitely didn't belong to him clamped over his mouth, which forestalled him to actually get something out of it. Grinning, he gave a fake attempt to wriggle free from it, but, of course, Gabriella wasn't having any of it. "Oh no, you're beyond doubt not telling her that!"

Her tone was warning and unmistakeable, Troy noticed that only too well. But that didn't bother him in the slightest. He had never intended on actually giving away what had happened, but he had been tempted to see how Gabriella would react to an effort. Not too good, obviously. That meant he could trust her to keep this quiet just as much as he could trust himself about never loosing one word about this. It wasn't like he didn't want to work this out with her, but he knew for sure that it wouldn't be helping if suddenly the entire population of East High knew what this was about.

However, Sharpay didn't quite get the point in this. "Oh come on, guys!", she pouted, making puppy-dog eyes in their direction. "You know I won't tell anyone about it!" Gabriella laughed out loud. That was one of the best jokes she had ever heard. Sharpay and keeping something quiet? Not in this life. Troy gave a short snort. It wasn't like he wouldn't have laughed, but there still was the little fact that Gabriella still hadn't dislodged her hand from his mouth. Which made it rather difficult to give an articulated sound.

And Troy liked to speak, so he didn't intend on letting it there for any more minutes. And it didn't seem like Gabriella was going to remove it herself in the next few seconds, not really trusting him to keep it hushed, so he had to do something for himself. And so Sharpay Evans was living to see the first time someone actually dared to interrupt her. Having ranted on about how it wasn't nice to keep someone out of something because it could make them an outcast – "That gives one a horse laugh", was the only thing Gabriella could think about after hearing this -, she hadn't even paid a little bit attention to the fact that Troy had gotten a thoughtful look on his face.

So she was completely unknowing, as suddenly a sharp scream could be heard – one that was sure to not be missed by anyone within fifty metres. "Bolton, you pig!", was all that Gabriella could get out, desperately shaking her hand after having jumped three metres away from the now shamelessly smirking basketball captain. Sharpay could only shake her head. There you were absent with your mind for one minute and there was already something happening and you didn't experience it yourself, no, you were dependent on what was told. And she knew that getting any information out of Troy or Gabriella was useless when they didn't want to tell something – not that she wouldn't try to convince them to nevertheless.

"Alright, guys, what have you done now?", she demanded, hands stemmed into her hips, her eyes giving away that they were being a pain in her neck. But this time she actually got the news she wanted. "He licked my hand!", Gabriella screeched, pointing accusingly at Troy while still shaking her hand as if there was no tomorrow. Sharpay looked disgusted. "You licked her hand?", she interrogated, shocked. "With your tongue?" Troy just gave a short nod, still laughing at Gabriella. "That's hideous!" The blonde exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. "Tell you what!" Gabriella nodded in approbation.

Troy just shrugged. "She was clamping my mouth with her hand! What should I have done? She wasn't intending on letting go anytime soon and I really like my ability to speak, thank you very much!" Gabriella gave him a disapproving look. "You could have asked nicely! No need to use your tongue on my hand!" Hoisting his eyebrows, Troy looked down at her. "Tell me how to do that! I couldn't get a single word out! And would you have rather I used my tongue on anything else? To stick it down your throat, for example?" Both Gabriella and Sharpay starred at him in pure shock.

And not only that: Gabriella seemed like she was going to loose her temper again in one of these moments. "Too early for jokes?", he asked, a little bit scared by her murderous look – but only a little bit. "Yeah!" Both girls nodded their heads simultaneous. Two against one – looked like he was defeated. "Alright, alright, I'll watch my tongue!", he exclaimed, not noticing what he had just unintentionally implied. Gabriella, though, did notice it. "Bolton, if I should find your tongue sticking down my throat anywhere near these days, I swear, I'm not so sure if you'll have one to watch after any longer."

Her voice was dangerously low, as if daring him to say something different. Troy went red and white. "Oh no, damn it, I didn't mean it like that! I meant I'll shut up – for now, at least!" He looked at Gabriella, unsure how she was going to react. But the second his gaze met hers, he knew that she had been joking, a wide smile visible displayed on her face. Relieved, he let out his breath and smiled, too, until a thought struck his mind. "Hey, didn't you just say it was too early for jokes?" Gabriella shrugged, smiling. "That's different." Now it was Troy who pouted. "Not fair!"

The girls broke down with laughter. This was unbelievable. Since when did they laugh so much when Troy Bolton was anywhere near them? Gabriella had forgotten how funny he could be when he actually wanted and right now she nearly regretted having shut herself off from him. But there still was the fact that he had cheated on her… She stopped laughing abruptly and both Troy and Sharpay noticed the sudden mood swing. Regarding her carefully, Troy knew that she had just remembered how he had hurt her … and it hurt him. Couldn't she just forget about it? Or let him explain and actually believe him? Obviously that was a tall order.

Sighing with sadness, he looked down and then indicated for the door. "Maybe we should go in, shouldn't we?" Gabriella looked up and met his eyes that clearly showed him being upset. And for a short moment she wished that life could be different from how it was now. But that was impossible and there was no use in asking 'What if?'. So she just nodded and made a start for the door. Having stood in the longest distance, she was the last to enter the gym, because Sharpay had picked up her intention and already went in and Troy had followed her. But, just before they entered the gym, he slowly turned around to her one last time, ahead of being seen by everyone else, and winked at her. And to Gabriella's great misery she had to discover that it still made her utterly stunned.

*

Five minutes later, the questions that had been poured on the three teenagers coming in had been answered – the ones that Troy and Gabriella wanted to have answered at least. And although that weren't really that much, both teams were content with them. Not that they would have had that much of another choice. But anyways, after having settled the matter of not knowing what to do about the contest, Gabriella felt as relieved as she hadn't felt in a long time. And now all she wanted to do was to start with the practice, anxious to get this as perfect as possible. And for that the members of the basketball team needed to know the steps of the dance.

She was slightly worried about their feeling for the rhythm, but she decided to leave that matter for later. For now it was all about getting the steps right. "Okay, how do we do this?", she asked nervously, not really awaiting an answer. She was the captain; she had to know where to begin. And virtually she did know what to do; she just dreaded to do so. But there was no way to bypass it. So, taking one deep breath, she looked around nervously, searching for Troy who had warped himself to his team mates. "I suppose that maybe I should show you how it should look in the end, so I don't know… Troy, would you mind?"

She waited for his answer, scared that he would say that he didn't remember a single one of the steps and she actually didn't expect him to. Yeah, sure, he had danced with her all those times ago and maybe the memory would come back to him while re-learning it, but she was sure that he had tried to erase every single memory of them together from his mind after she had broken things off with him. That was what she had done.

But to her biggest surprise, he plainly nodded and strode towards her at a quick pace, as if knowing that she wanted to start with the dance as soon as possible. "You mean… you think you actually remember the steps?", she stuttered, feeling a little bit lost, still not being quite aware that he had agreed to dance with her in front of practically everyone without hesitation. Troy looked at her as though he wanted to ask if she was alright. "What did you think?", he asked, his voice sounding mildly amused. "That I would offer my help without at least remembering half of them? Do you think I want to stultify myself that much?"

Well, not exactly, no. But she hadn't given a thought as to why he _had _offered his help after having become convinced that he wasn't there to try and ruin the dance, so she would fall in disgrace. And she still didn't think that he really knew all the steps. Regarding him cautiously, she nodded once and then turned sharply around to turn on the stereo equipment. But to her surprise, Taylor was already ready to press the starting button, so Gabriella could get in starting position with Troy. Reminding herself that the dance was started with the pair of dancers engulfed in a hug, she nervously took place in the middle of the gym, sending Troy a summoning look.

But with every step he took in her direction, Gabriella began to shiver more. Was this really what she wanted? Enduring Troy and his closeness just because of some stupid contest? Letting him near her without screaming at him, no, even letting him touch her, dance with her? Was it worth that? Deep in thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Troy had accomplished the way to her and was ready to go into starting position. He, too, was more than unsure about what he was doing. In less than a minute he would have her in his arms again, being able to touch her without getting yelled at.

He knew that he had kind of longed for it, even while he had tried to outplay it with his hate for her. He knew that he wanted nothing more than finally being able to call her his again, but he also knew that it was not possible and not likely that it would ever be possible again. And therefore he knew that she was dreading his touch just as much as he was anticipating it. Not a thought that made him gain more confidence about this whole thing. What if his closeness was unbearable for her? What if she just let it happen because her pride wasn't going to let her give up that easily? What if she was being tortured by her feelings towards him?

He really wasn't sure about this, but what should he do? Back away in the last minute? Let her hanging if all of the above he had been thinking had been wrong? If she was feeling languorous if he touched her or not? There was no way he was going to back out of this now. Tentatively, as if trying to make sure she could grow accustomed to his touch again, he slipped his arms around her waist, only to find her jumping as his body came in contact with hers. He needed all his will power to not sigh in resignation. She wasn't compatible with him being this near. He should have known. Not just thought about it, he should have known. But he hadn't and now it was too late.

But there was something he had to do before they started into this dance. There was no way he would let her dance this way. She would be all stiff and most likely not be able to do the lifting figures. And he didn't exactly want her breaking herself an arm or a leg. So he leant towards her right ear and whispered: "Look, Gabriella, I know you don't want me here in close vicinity to you. And I understand why. But you need to relax. I can't change the way it is and that you won't believe me about the fact that I didn't cheat on you and I certainly can't change how you feel about me. But you won't be able to dance if you stiffen like this. I promise I won't hurt you and I won't let you fall. So please just try, alright?"

Gabriella swallowed. Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it. He tried to comfort her; he actually tried to understand her, to consider her feelings. And in some way she was thankful for that. Maybe that was the reason why she found herself able to really relax into his arms. Whatever it was, it helped. And that was all that counted right now. Finally able to meet Troy's eyes, she looked up and then gave Taylor the starting sign. Promptly, the music was being played. She looked back to Troy, never breaking the gaze between the two of them.

Searching his eyes for any signs of uncertainty, she heard the first notes floating through the air and hesitantly took a step to the right, relieved as he made one to his left. Cautiously beginning to circle each other as they had done so many times before, both remembered more and more the way they used to dance together, now being able to faultlessly put it into practice again. Their bodies moulding into one perfect couple of dancers, they starred into each other's eyes, getting lost in their own world.

Gabriella's breathing hitched, as she felt his right hand gently making its way from her back to her neck, his fingertips ever so lightly touching her burning skin. Before she actually knew what was happening, her own hand tangled itself in his hair, their heads approaching until their foreheads touched. Helplessly she gazed into his bright blue orbs, desperately trying to keep the erupting feelings in check. How could dancing with him affect her so much? She couldn't get sentimental over this; that wouldn't end very well.

Right on cue the slow introduction ended and the rhythm changed to a much faster one. Instantly breaking out of Troy's arms as soon the beat started to fill the gym, Gabriella gladly merged into the main part of the dance, wanting to leave her previous thoughts far behind. It couldn't be that hard, could it? Trying to concentrate on what she had to do next, she cursed silently. This was the old version she had to dance and that meant that the combined part wasn't finished yet. Even worse, the moves were only going to get even more sensual in certain parts.

And as if to prove her point, Troy slipped his hands around her waist, just in time to guide her down for the splits and lift her up in one fluid movement, assisting her for her first leap. Both jumped slightly before criss-crossing, their arms matching their feet movement. They broke out into various hip-hop dance moves, before Gabriella did a spot turn, once again facing Troy. She had to admit that he was good. Until now he hadn't messed up a single step, but Gabriella was sure that he didn't remember all of them. She was wrong.

He did, indeed, and he knew only too well why. Of course he had tried to do the same as Gabriella: forgetting something had ever happened between them. But that didn't mean that he had been able to. It was the only time that the old saw was wrong: There wasn't always a way if there was a will.

But right now he really couldn't concentrate on that much longer; because Gabriella now came to the part of the dance they both had enjoyed most back in Sophomore Year, which meant that it was going to be the most awkward for them due to their current circumstances. Troy could feel Gabriella tremble and the fact that it certainly wasn't anticipation that made her shiver suddenly managed to get him extremely upset. Confound it! He wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep himself at bay and restrain himself from breaking the dance to flee the gym. This certainly wasn't the best idea to…

All thoughts were suddenly ripped out of his mind as Gabriella seemed to have decided there was no sense in protracting the tension. Having made up her mind just in time to not miss the beat, she whirled herself in his arms and instantaneously started to dip low. Letting herself drop halfway to the floor, she could feel Troy's arms automatically reaching for her waist, pulling her into his body to provide her greater stability.

Her hands grabbing his shirt slightly, Gabriella came up again, trying not to let her uneasiness for this move show in her face. She couldn't believe she had actually pulled this off. Why hadn't she just broken the dance off, explained to him that she couldn't do it and tried to insert some other move they could do instead? This wasn't something you just did with everyone you danced with. She had always been of the opinion that it was pretty intimate since it allowed the boy a pretty good look at your cleavage, so why do it with Troy?

Easy question, easy answer. It just had felt so familiar, so … right to do it. Regardless the fact that they had just called a truth about ten minutes ago after two years of fighting it had felt like the right thing to do. And that troubled Gabriella more than any dance move in the world could.

Allowing herself to throw a short look at Troy, she swallowed hard, after seeing that his face was showing a mix of confusion, shock and … desire? No, no, no, that couldn't be. He surely wouldn't be turned on by this; if anything he should be disgusted that she had even done it. They weren't in Sophomore Year anymore and they weren't going out. She hated him; he hated her. No reasons for him to actually enjoy any of this more or less forced dancing. Therefore she was surprised all the more as he shot her a small smile that definitely didn't seem faked.

What Gabriella didn't know was that Troy was thinking exactly the same. He couldn't deny that he had enjoyed Gabriella's little 'visit' to the floor after he had gotten over the shock that she had actually let herself do that. And it was just as confusing for him as for Gabriella. Desperately trying to keep himself from grinning too smugly at her, he shot her a little smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice that he was having problems to concentrate on the dance after her little stunt.

You could say that he was more than glad when he realized that it was time for Gabriella's short solo. Just in time after the second chorus had ended, he whirled her around into a perfectly well achieved pirouette, before letting himself sink to the ground. It was more than awkward to do so in front of his basketball team – he didn't worry about the dancers, they were used to something like that -, but soon he didn't mind after remembering that they would have to do the same sooner or later. He'd prefer sooner in this case.

Gabriella, however, didn't even have the time to feel something like embarrassment for she was the only one dancing. It wasn't new to her and she had to concentrate hard for her solo, so she wasn't exactly capable of thinking about anything else. After she had been swirled into the pirouette – it really was surprising he remembered how to do so – she instantly broke into the _Torshete_, a scissor-like movement.

Knowing that it didn't take long for her to complete her solo, Troy strained his whole body, ready to go for the second last part of the song. Right on cue, he lifted himself from the ground, as Gabriella once again did the splits.

Doing a moonwalk in-between the ten seconds Gabriella stayed at the ground, Troy turned and lifted her up in the air, so she could jump once and leave the rest to him. Picking her up, Troy attempted to whirl her around halfway, as he felt her stiffen up. Knowing that she needed to be calm to minder the risk of getting hurt, he gave her a reassuring clasp on her hip with one of his fingertips. Gabriella closed her eyes while feeling the old sign he had always used to assure her she was safe with him. Feeling him turn and set her down slowly, she twitched shortly, but regained her trust in him relatively quickly. Jumping out of his grasp when she was near the ground, both of them did a spot turn and then diverged from each other with a quicker version of the backslide.

Eventually having reached the optimal distance, Troy turned around, facing Gabriella, waiting for her to run up to him. He was nervous, he had to admit it. The following lifting figure was the worst of the whole dance and there was no denying that Troy dreaded the figure. But it was way too late for backing out now. So he just stood there, waiting for her to run up to him. And so she did.

But, shortly before Gabriella leapt of the ground, Troy could see that she was scared, too. She could try to overact with the calmest face she could pull off, but she couldn't fool him. There was this spark of precariousness flashing through her brown eyes that gave it all away. And for one short moment Troy couldn't concentrate anymore. He saw her coming towards him, her feet leaving the ground and he… he found he couldn't move his arms up to head her off. His eyes grew wide with fear. What if she fell? What if she broke something? She would never, never ever forgive him for that. And he couldn't let that happen.

He had once let her down; he wasn't going to do it again. She had just learnt to trust him again – for the dancing, at least – and he wasn't going to throw that away just now. And suddenly he could move again. Finally raising his arms, he managed to break her fall just in time and lifted her up with all the strength he could muster. Going through the routine of the move, he couldn't think of another thing but that he had nearly let her fall. And he could have sworn that he heard a relieved sigh going round the gym. It wouldn't be a big surprise if at least some of the bystanders had noticed his hesitance.

And he was sure that Gabriella had noticed. Of course. How could you not notice if you were the one threatened to fall because of someone else? And Gabriella had indeed detected the little fact. She was just glad that she hadn't landed on the ground, but she knew she would have to speak to Troy about this later. For now, she just concentrated on the last steps. Jumping down to the ground again, she felt him gripping her hand and screwing her into him, only to release her seconds later and spin her into a short, but really quick turn. Not being used to that anymore, Gabriella nearly tripped over her own feet, but before she could fall to the ground and hurt herself, Troy was already beside her, holding her up by drawing her into the ending position, a kind of a hug, only that it looked more intimate than one.

The instant they had stopped moving and the music had stopped playing, the whole gym was silent. Nobody was moving; nobody was speaking; there wasn't anyone who dared making a noise. The dance they had just witnessed had exceeded all expectations. It wasn't just a dance, it was kind of perfection. Well, besides the short moment everyone had thought Troy wasn't going to move to break Gabriella's fall. But that was something nobody cared about at the moment. Breaking into rounds of applause, everyone was suddenly chatting and laughing brightly in a muddle and nobody overheard Gabriella whispering: "For one moment I thought you were going to let me fall!" Troy nodded shortly. "For one moment I thought the same thing." That shut both of them up.

Heavily panting, the two of them stood there for several minutes, trying to regulate their breathing. Gabriella had her head on Troy's shoulder, for once not minding this closeness. Taking in his scent, she coped calming herself down. Troy, becoming aware that she didn't mind, rested his chin on her head, closing his eyes. This was unbelievable. He had never dared to think that he would ever be this close to her again and here he was, holding her in his arms. But the moment was ending before it actually had begun. Gabriella, reminding herself of the fact that there were about thirty people watching them and thinking they didn't get along very well, untangled herself as quickly as possible from him and dashed a few steps backwards.

She didn't notice Troy's surprised and hurt face, as she was already turning around to their audience, trying to make them forget about what they had just witnessed. "Okay, guys, that's how it's made, so we should start in order to get this right by Friday, alright?" She swallowed dryly. What had she been thinking? Standing there with Troy in a more than friendly hug, although she didn't even like him? There was only one answer: She hadn't been thinking. And that was the biggest problem. She wasn't ready to even begin to think about forgiving him someday, much less starting to have any diffuse feelings she couldn't recognize. No, no, this wasn't happening, there was nothing she should be worrying about, there was nothing she even _could _worry about… frankly because there was nothing.

Shaking her head at these thoughts, she avoided looking at Troy, but instead looked at everyone else. "I don't know how we can teach you guys the steps the fastest, but I guess it would be a start if you girls each grab your partner and try to explain the steps to them. You know them, I bet Sharpay and Taylor already gave you a copy, as they knew we would have boys to dance with before me." She looked at her best friends, smiling to show them she wasn't angry anymore. "And if there are problems anywhere, I'll be glad to help, okay?" She received nods everywhere she looked and now found herself in the position of telling Troy what he should do.

Turning around to him, she still didn't look him in the eyes, but said: "I guess you can take a breath, you deserve it." Troy sighed, but it didn't reach Gabriella's ears. So he just agreed and made his way to the guys' locker-room where he had left his sport bad with his water bottle. For the next hour and a half, Gabriella had nothing else to do than going around and supervising the training pairs. They were coming on in leaps and bounds and she was thankful for that. She didn't know what she would have done if anyone hadn't been able to pull it off. She knew that she had practically thrown them in at the deep end, but what was there that she could possibly do? They had only four days, four days left until this had to be perfect. And that was not much time, no, definitely not.

*

By the time lunch time had arrived, the rumour that Troy Bolton, East High's king, was actually helping Gabriella Montez and her dancing squad in the contest. And there were very different reactions to it. Disbelief, shock, denial and laughing about it even were the nicest of them. Bad-mouthing, gossiping and openly confronting Gabriella about it were the worst. After it had become common knowledge that Troy had dumped Amber – not that Amber was very happy about the news -, many girls seemed to think that it had just been the chance Gabriella had waited for. For paying Amber back all the times she had tried to make Gabriella's life miserable and at the same time for getting East High's golden boy back.

Gabriella wasn't surprised about this. She knew that many of them had been jealous of her for the time she had dated Troy – although they had never dared to show it openly - and that they had been glad when she had broken it off. And she knew that many girls had supported Amber and Troy's 'relationship', even though they wouldn't have said no if Troy had come to them. And now they were thinking that Gabriella was taking advantage of the fact that Troy was 'heart-broken' – she really didn't know how you could think someone was heart-broken if they strode through the halls of East High, whistling joyfully – and only played him as a card in a game of winning and loosing.

She didn't care much about the rumours, but she couldn't stand the many girls coming up to her and telling her they really wouldn't have thought she would stoop that low to play with some boy's feelings. She had simply laughed at the first five of them, but after she had had to hear the same ranting from about seventy different girls she had unquestionably had enough. And so she had given ground and went into the gym to once again practice a few moves of the dance. She knew she could pull them off in any second, but she wanted them to be perfect. And it was a welcomed distraction from the harassing.

*

It never rains but it pours. Gabriella should have known that, but all she could think about at the moment was that she wasn't getting this damned dance move right. And she didn't even know why. She had managed to pull it off perfectly well just two hours beforehand and now she had forgotten how to do it? Impossible. But she had to admit that she wasn't fully concentrating on it, but rather thinking about Troy. He had remembered all the dancing steps. What did that mean? That it was possible that she had meant something to him? That she had been that important that he would memorize such little things from their relationship like the exact chronology of the dancing steps? Damn it, why did she have to be confused just now? It wasn't helping!

But now it was impossible to get this move right. There was no way she would manage to nail it without a lead and where to get one from? Sighing frustrated, she once again got in starting position after pressing play on the stereo equipment. Trudging herself through the dance, she stiffened more and more until it was impossible to get on with it. But she wasn't going to give up, she had to do it. Once again her pride was standing in her way. And it was being noticed by a certain blue-eyed boy. Seeing that she wasn't going to leave it until she had finished it, he saw no other way but to step up and help her. Otherwise she was most likely to break something. And she would be lucky if it wasn't her spinal column.

So, just as she was going to throw herself into the Pirouette, he grabbed her hand and whirled her around. Jumping due to the sudden touch, she nearly tripped and could only steady herself with a quick grasp at his shoulder. Yelping what with the surprise, her head darted around to look at him and she could barely restrain herself from yelping a second time. Troy Bolton was standing beside her. Where the hell had he come from? She hadn't even seen him approaching. And the more important question was: Why was he here? And who the hell did he think he was to scare her just like that?

Detaching herself from his grip, she glowered at him. "Bolton! What the hell are you doing?" She didn't even notice that she had gone back to last-name-calling. But Troy did notice it all the more. "Back to last name basis, _Montez_?", he emphasised her last name sarcastically, rolling his eyes. How come that she always went rigid if he did something unexpected? Oh yeah, right, she hated surprises. "Anyways, I was just trying to help!", he defended himself, as she didn't soften her look. Although he didn't exactly know why he was the one apologizing. Wasn't she the one that yelled at him, though he had done nothing wrong? Typically Gabriella. Always blowing up at innocent ones.

Gabriella, however, didn't think of Troy as _innocent_. "Helping?", she asked, her voice somewhat high-pitched. "You mean tripping over my feet is going to help me? I don't think so!" Troy couldn't believe it, but yet he stayed calm. Not that it was going to last very long anyways. "Hey, I was really trying to help. You couldn't get it right; I thought I would lend you a hand. But obviously it was, once again, wrong." Gabriella shook her head. "Of course it's wrong! What gives you the idea that I needed to be helped out? By you, for good measure?!"

He nearly laughed. "Oh, I don't know? Maybe because you looked like you were going to break in two halves any minute?" He didn't understand why she was already so worked up again. He had just tried to help. There wasn't anything wrong with that, was there? But apparently she thought so. "You know what, Bolton? I don't care why you thought it necessary, but let me tell you that it wasn't and if I were in your shoes I'd be making sure it doesn't happen again, alright?" Oh no, not this again. Troy had the slight feeling that he had heard this somewhere along the lines of the last two years filled with fighting before.

But what he didn't remember was that she had looked so intriguing the last time she had said that. He also hadn't committed to memory that she had been standing so close to him and he certainly couldn't retain the information that he had wanted to shut her up… not in the ordinary way, but through something special. And right now he was all for giving into that want. „You know what?", he asked her fiery. "I'm all and done for, if you ask me!" He shot her a nasty glare, which Gabriella returned equally. Glaring at him with fire obvious in her eyes, she shot back at him: "Well, it's a good thing nobody's been asking you then, isn't it? 'Cause I certainly don't care and…"

Whatever she was going to say next was forgotten as soon as Troy's warm mouth covered hers possessively, kissing her with all the passion he had built up over the last ten minutes. Gabriella, after all those years still being kind of used to his lips on hers, didn't hesitate to return the kiss, pressing herself more into him and placing her arms around his neck in an attempt to steady herself. Her fingers tangled up in his shaggy brown hair, she tilted her head back to give him more access and a chance to deepen the kiss, which he gratefully took.

Letting his tongue rest on her lower lip, he waited for her to give him access, which she appreciatively granted. His tongue slipping into her mouth, they let their tongues battle for dominance. Unable to hold herself back any longer, Gabriella let out a soft moan. She knew she shouldn't be enjoying this, but she couldn't help it. How was she supposed to be thinking when his kisses were mind-blowing? It was impossible and thus not imaginable for her to break the kiss. Troy, however, had come to his senses, as soon as he had heard Gabriella moan. It was hard to uncover his mind from the smoke screen and to control himself, but he managed to do it eventually.

Reluctantly, he backed away from her lips, looking her straight in the eye, only to find her starring back at him, her eyes being a mix of wanting more and being utterly confused. Troy knew that he probably wasn't looking any different. But what the hell… This was Gabriella Montez he had just kissed and he knew that it definitely shouldn't have happened. Why did it even happen in first place? He didn't know. Had they been fighting? If they had, he was convinced that he couldn't remember a single thing about it. He had been angry, yeah, but… why? He really didn't know.

The only thing that he knew right now was that he should get going this moment. But somehow he found that he couldn't. He couldn't just leave her standing there without doing anything. But what was he supposed to do? They were enemies for god's sake and he had only kissed her to shut her up. He _had _only kissed her because of that, right? Somehow he couldn't find a way to convince himself. Maybe he had wanted this… and she definitely could kiss… better than every other girl he had ever kissed.

But that didn't matter, it shouldn't matter at least. They couldn't stand each other, he had hurt her in any way possible and she had drawn the conclusions from it, so he had to bear the consequences. But nevertheless he couldn't seem to be able to restrain himself from what he did now: Raising his hand slowly, he briefly cupped her cheek in his hand, before he abruptly turned around, leaving her standing there in the empty gym.

Gabriella didn't look after him, for she was still too shocked by what had just happened. _He actually kissed me!_, she thought confused. _And he still is a bloody amazing kisser as well… _She didn't know if she should shout after him, asking if he still was right in his mind or if she should just let it be. Finally settling on the second, she brought her fingers up to her tingling lips, not quite able to cover up the small smile that flickered across her face. Slowly backing up against the gym wall, she searched for support of her knees that had gone weak. In no way she had imagined for this ever to be happening. She had never thought that she would ever be kissing Troy again, not after she had seen him and that… that girl in his room. Which brought her back to the reason why she shouldn't have kissed him.

Tiara. The reason why she had broken up with Troy, the reason why she knew that he was an egoistical, self-absorbed jerk. But the kiss brought her thinking back. She had felt that he had actually wanted to kiss her; there was no denying that after feeling the passion between them. And she couldn't deny either that she had ached for him to not break the kiss, to hold it up, although she knew that they would have needed oxygen sooner or later. No! No, she couldn't be thinking this, she wasn't right in her mind, she had lost her common sense, there was no other explanation. But she had to confess that she hadn't minded all that while Troy's mouth had still covered hers.

*

Five hours later, Gabriella burst into the Evans' mansion. She didn't even bother to ask herself why the door was open; the only thing she cared about was that she needed to see her friends as soon as possible. And for that she was only glad she didn't have to ring the bell and wait until the door was opened up by one of the butlers. Hurrying and deep in thoughts, she didn't pay attention to where she was running. "Oww!" With a loud thud she landed on the ground, having run over a blonde boy.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Ryan, I didn't mean to…" She cut herself short, remembering she didn't have the time to give long explanations. The blonde just smiled sympathetically. "It's okay, no need to worry!" Gabriella was relieved. "Thanks, Ry. Do you know where Shar and Taylor are?" The blonde eyed her curiously. "They're at the pool, sun-bathing." The brunette smiled appreciatively and dashed forward to the backside of the house. "See you later, Ry!", she only managed to get out, then she was already out of the house.

Slithering and desperately trying to come to a halt, Gabriella tried to stop at her best friends' sun lounges, but she had no success, seeing as the ground she had run on was too wet to stop her. And before she knew what was going on, Gabriella found herself in the pool, wet from head to toes. "Argh!" A loud shriek emitted by two girls at the same time reached Gabriella's ears quite unwelcome. The splash that had inevitably come after she had fallen into the pool had hit both the girls trying to sun-bath. And they weren't too happy about it.

"Gabriella!" Sharpay screeched, looking down at her Prada swimsuit that had water spilled all over it. "What are you doing?" Gabriella shrugged apologetically, kicking water to stay afloat. "Sorry, couldn't stop, the ground's too wet." Sharpay nodded, not even wondering why her friend had run in first place. Turning around to Taylor, she just finished the sentence she had begun before being interrupted by Gabriella's little stunt. "Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Zeke's just so cute!"

Gabriella shook her head. Here she was, wet and soaked, and all Shar cared about was the cuteness-factor of her boyfriend? Really! That was no appropriate way to treat a friend. But she knew the perfect way to attract the attention to herself. "We kissed!", she spluttered, nervously awaiting the reaction of her two friends. "What?!" Sharpay sounded like she couldn't believe it. "You kissed Zeke?" What? How the hell did she come to that idea? "No!", Gabriella protested instantly and Taylor also looked apprehensive at Sharpay. "Shar, really! Why would she kiss Zeke?"

Sharpay just shrugged and Gabriella groaned. So not the point right now! "I meant Troy! I kissed Troy… or better, he kissed me!" "What?!" Now she had both her friends starring at her with a shocked look on their faces. "Is he dumb?" Sharpay asked, not believing what she had just heard. "He can't be trying to get himself in even more trouble, can he?" Gabriella couldn't quite suppress her smile. "Let's say he's mentally challenged, okay?" Taylor didn't even listen to them. "He kissed you? And you kissed him back?" She looked like a meteorite had just driven in just in front of her.

Gabriella shrugged abashed. "Maybe?" Now there was no way she could have prevented the two girls from letting questions rain all over her. "When? Why? Where? What exactly happened? Was it good? Don't you hate him? Was he…?" Gabriella kept her ears shut. Too bad that she forgot she was still inside the pool, so she went down, which instantly drowned the voices of Sharpay and Taylor out. Peaceful silence came over her, but she knew she couldn't avoid them forever. But how to answer their questions if she herself didn't even know what exactly had happened? She could say that he was the only one to blame, that he had surprised her. But she knew that it wouldn't have happened if she had just worked against it harder. As long as she knew it still took two to kiss.

*

While Gabriella was still deliberating how to tell the girls everything, Troy was lying on his bed, his face starring up at the ceiling. What the hell had he been thinking? Kissing Gabriella Montez? His ex-girlfriend? Oh god, he didn't even want to imagine how much she had to hate him right now. Burying his face in his hands, he once again let the memory of the afternoon live up. He couldn't deny that he had more than liked it to be the one kissing her again. And she had kissed him back! The only thing was: Had she kissed him back because she wanted it just as much as him or had she done it because he had taken her by surprise?

As much as he wanted it to be the first option, he tended to think that it was the second. This was Gabriella he was thinking about, not just one of the other girls who gave themselves to him in the bash of an eyelid. And that was another one of his worries. He didn't know what had happened this afternoon, but he knew that it had changed him in some way. He was sure he wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for one of those cheerleaders.

After he had left the gym again, he couldn't avoid crossing ways with one of them… the type he had tried to avoid, which had been the reason he had been in the gym first-handed. Coming up to him and playing the compassionate girl, she had put an arm around his waist and he hadn't stopped her, although he hadn't liked it. But his mind had still been trying to work out what had happened back there in the gym and so he hadn't been up to speed. And the cheerleader had mistaken that for a sign of affection.

She had gone on about how bad Gabriella was for taking advantage of him and his broken heart – yeah right, as if – and then had suggested she could make it better. To which he hadn't complained, simply because he hadn't listened to her. And that was the reason why she had made them stop and tip-toed up to him, kissing him fully on the mouth. It hadn't been anything like the kiss he had just had with Gabriella. Had the earlier kiss had some feelings between them, then this was just meaningless. And that was the time he had finally woken up from his desperate condition.

Pushing her away, he had glared and told her she shouldn't be trying to do something like that ever again, before he had turned on his heel and rushed of in the opposite direction, not even caring about the complaining cheerleader. And now here he was, lying on his bed, still not fully comprehending what had happened and how this was going to affect things between him and a certain brown-eyed brunette. All of the sudden, it seemed like he couldn't have anyone touching him – girls, at least – and especially not kissing him. He felt somewhat dirty, but he didn't know if it was because he finally came to his senses and realised that girls worshipping the ground he walked on were not the type of girl he liked or because he didn't want anyone kissing him besides … her.

**Okaaay, so they kissed. Wow, yeah, I know. Wasn't expecting it either****, when I started writing this chapter, but somehow they wrote themselves… and who am I to stop them from kissing? So, did you like it? Tell me, tell me! Because I'd really like to know, you know? **

**A HEADS UP to all of those who follow my story 'First Bad Habit': I'm glad to be able to tell you that I've finally started on the chapter and that I've already written the first half of it… the part from Troy's point of view. Now there's only Gabriella's missing and I'm trying to get that done as soon as possible. Excited already? Yes, I am, too. Because I'm still not sure on how to end that story. Don't get scared now… they're most likely gonna end up together, I just need to find out how. Because until now, Troy's still knee-deep into the mess he's got himself in, so… we'll see :)**

**Thanks for now, **

**xoxo**

**Lena aka ElectrifyingChemistry **


	11. Turning point

**Hey, guys! So I'm really sorry that I didn't update last week, but truth to be told… I completely forgot. Holidays finally started and I slept over at my best friend's and then so much came together that I couldn't get anymore into my head… and I forgot. Bad excuse, I know, but there's nothing I can do and making up another excuse has never helped anyone, so I decided to simply tell you the truth. Although it does make me look really bad. I mean, it's not like I'm old. I should be able to remember certain things. And I don't. Sad, really. **

**So, since I'm sure that no one's really interested in my ramblings, I'll just give you the fifth to last chapter to this story. Isn't it sad that it's slowly coming to an end… again? Four more instalments after this and it's gonna be over… sigh. But I promise I'm not going to stop writing and I really hope I'll get the fifth chapter of FBH up any time soon. It's starting to get on my nerves just like it's nerve-racking for you to have to wait so long. I want to get it over with, I really do. :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to Kristyna. Wow, girl, being able to chat with you on icq is so unbelievable! And it's so much fun. And never forget: You're pretty. Don't even try to deny it :)**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_She had gone on about how bad Gabriella was for taking advantage of him and his broken heart – yeah right, as if – and then had suggested she could make it better. To which he hadn't complained, simply because he hadn't listened to her. And that was the reason why she had made them stop and tip-toed up to him, kissing him fully on the mouth. It hadn't been anything like the kiss he had just had with Gabriella. Had the earlier kiss had some feelings between them, then this was just meaningless. And that was the time he had finally woken up from his desperate condition. _

_Pushing her away, he had glared and told her she shouldn't be trying to do something like that ever again, before he had turned on his heel and rushed of in the opposite direction, not even caring about the complaining cheerleader. And now here he was, lying on his bed, still not fully comprehending what had happened and how this was going to affect things between him and a certain brown-eyed brunette. All of the sudden, it seemed like he couldn't have anyone touching him – girls, at least – and especially not kissing him. He felt somewhat dirty, but he didn't know if it was because he finally came to his senses and realised that girls worshipping the ground he walked on were not the type of girl he liked or because he didn't want anyone kissing him besides … her. _

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Chapter eleven – Turning point

The next day, Gabriella was more than resistant to go to school. Having reflected the memory of Troy's kiss over and over again, she was sure that she couldn't stand seeing him now. She just wasn't ready for it. She didn't even know what she was feeling, much less how she should react towards him. Interrogating him about last day's events or ignoring him? Tough choice and Taylor and Sharpay hadn't been a great help. Eventually she had told them everything that had happened – as if she would be able to get away from that – and they both hadn't been reasonable afterwards. Gushing about Troy and her, both completely had forgotten the fact that they couldn't stand each other, that they were enemies at truce, for God's sake, nothing more.

And it wasn't like it was just a momentary dispute; hell, they hadn't really spoken with each other – more yelled and getting yelled at – in the last two years and now they had kissed? Gabriella buried her face in her hands. And it wasn't as if he had only pressed his lips on hers, no, she had responded to him! What the hell had she been thinking? And what the hell should she do now? She didn't even know if he would keep it quiet. What if he spread the news all around the school? She would never live that down. Why couldn't she just stay at home? Her mother wasn't around either way, and what was the use if she went to school, probably not even getting what the teachers were trying to tell. Thinking about Troy could be a very time- and mind-absorbing activity.

But what was the use to stay at home either, sulking about the previous afternoon? At school she would at least have her friends to be a support. Although she wasn't very sure if they would be a great help at the moment. However, maybe Chris would understand her. She could only hope so… Sighing, she finally made up her mind, leaving the house and jumping into her car. She still had nearly forty minutes to get to school, a result of the fact that she had hardly gotten any sleep last night and had woken up at an inhuman hour. And it only took ten minutes with the car. Great. Another half an hour left to ponder about her and Troy and what to do about him.

Intentionally she tried everything to get her mind on the forthcoming contest. They would have to set at least one practice every day, if not more. There were still some lifting figures going wrong and the last thing she could exert was a hurt dancing participant. She was just glad that Troy knew his stuff… Oh no, not him again. He seemed to be everywhere lately, in her thoughts, in the talks going on around her and … directly in front of her. Damn it! Gabriella cursed quietly, as she watched him parking his car in the school's parking lot. Frantically searching for an option to avoid him seeing her, she looked around desperately, but where to hide if you were in a car waiting for a chance to get your car parked? Right, there was absolutely nothing to be done there.

And luckily there was nothing that had to be done, because he didn't even turn his head in her direction. Hastily jumping out of his car, he nearly forgot to lock it, as he was already anywhere else with his thoughts but where he was right now. Letting out a relieved breath, Gabriella waited for him to vanish into the school's building, before she started looking for a parking spot. And found one next to his. Biting her tongue, she managed to hold herself back before she would let another curse slip. Typical for this day to bring her the opposite of the things she wanted to happen.

Exhaling noisily, she came to the conclusion that it was ridiculous to deliberately search for another spot if there was one right in front of her. And what did she care about standing next to Troy's car? It didn't mean a thing. Letting her car roll in the free gap, she slowly set one foot out and then the other as if slowing down in her motions would slow down time. No such luck. Setting one foot in front of the other, she walked up to the building, despairingly hoping that Troy wouldn't have stopped in the hallway, or else she would walk straight into him. Nothing that she would look forward to.

Hesitantly letting her hand rest on the door handle, she lagged to push it open. And she would have stayed put there for even more minutes if there hadn't been one certain person showing up behind her. "What? Waiting up for me, mon cherie?" Gabriella shook her head silently. He hadn't learned in one way or another. Not even bothering to explain the French grammar once again, she pulled the door open, stepping into the hall and letting the door fall closed behind her. Brandon, not having counted on that, walked straight into it. The thump that was audible across the entire entrance hall abruptly brought silence into it. Seeing all eyes being directed at her, for once not accusing her because of Troy, but curious about the thud, Gabriella just shrugged, giving way so Brandon could be seen rubbing his forehead.

It was only a matter of seconds until everyone inside was laughing their butts off. No one, and really no one, had ever seen that happen in their entire school time at East High. And it was typical for it to happen to Brandon first. Not that there were high chances of it happening to anyone else. But you never knew, did you? Brandon, however, didn't seem to care much about the fact that he was now the laughing stock of the entire student body. Not even paying attention to their laughing faces, he finally handled to enter the school, pushing the door open by himself. Instantly he turned to Gabriella, who had managed to keep a straight face through it all.

Rolling her eyes, because he still hadn't gotten the message, she simply made her way down the hall way, leaving Brandon dumbfounded. But unfortunately his astonishment didn't last for very long, as he already scurried after her. "Hey, Gabby!" She didn't care about him, walking on, trying to ignore his screeching voice. Suddenly, she found her arm encircled into a strong grip, whirling her around. Now, that was enough. "Brandon! Can't you see that I don't want anything to do with you? Leave me alone, why won't you?" He didn't even bother to think about the questions, but gave his standard answer. "Because I know you want me as much as I want you!" By now, the entire population had stopped their private conversations. Nothing was as amusing as hearing Gabriella tell Brandon off once more.

It was just bad luck that Gabriella didn't think of it as amusing. Annoying would be a much better word for it. Or unnerving, grueling, exhausting… the list went on and on in her opinion. "I would never want you, Brandon, why don't you just get it?" She searched her audience for any familiar faces, but she saw neither Shar nor Taylor nor any other members of her dancing squad. What a pity. Seemed like she would have to get through this by herself. Throwing Brandon a pleading look, she practically begged him for letting her off the hook for this time. Not catching her gaze, Brandon tried to reason: "Maybe because I don't want to?" It was needless to say that Gabriella wasn't blown away by his come-back.

But she really didn't want to repeat herself and there was nothing else that she could possibly say as telling him to get lost. And that that wasn't working… well, she had experience in that.

Looking at him with raised eyebrows, the boy could tell that he hadn't convinced her. Time to make her feel sympathy for him. "Aww, come on, Gabby, please! Just one little kiss? As an indemnification for just now as you let me run against the door?" Gabriella was stunned. Not because he had actually found an acceptable reason, but because he knew such a long word. She had never known he could be clever sometimes. But that still didn't count as a reason to kiss him. Finally getting the ability to speak back, she refused him again.

"I would rather getting myself kissed by Bolton than ever having your lips near mine, much less have them on yours!", she told him, advisedly leaving out the fact that she had kissed Troy… and had actually liked it. A lot. But that was something she would prefer to not think about. And if she was lucky she would manage to avoid him for the whole day and get home without having seen him in the slightest. Which would be perfect. It was just too bad that she was living. And as it was common knowledge life was what happened to you while you are making plans. And therefore there was not even the slightest chance of her getting away that easily. After all, there was still the little fact that she would have to set a practice. And he would be there.

That was if he hadn't gotten cold feet by what had happened yesterday. And then she would have to once again worry about where she could get a dancer from. Suddenly she didn't know if she would be happy or devastated if Troy didn't show up. Did the fact that she wouldn't have to face him compensate the fact that she would have one thing more to get herself wound up by? Hell, life was complicated. But that wasn't what she had to worry about right now. Right now all she really had to worry about was Brandon who was much too pestering for his own good. Having taken a couple of steps in her direction, he was only one meter away. Much too near for Gabriella's liking. And not only for hers.

Unaware of a pair of eyes watching them arguing, Gabriella and Brandon both hadn't bothered to look into the corners of the hall. And in one of them Troy had been following Gabriella's way from the parking lot up to school. He, too, hadn't gotten much sleep at night, always wondering about the reason he had kissed her. And about the question if he was still doing the contest with her. Not because he didn't want to anymore, but because he didn't know if she would bear him in her vicinity. He had come to two terminations: First, he would just have to show up to the gym and see how she would react and second, there was only one reason that could have gotten him going to kiss her.

And that was that he still liked her. After all these times he had been trying to convince himself to hate her, he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend. It was ludicrous, really. He liked Gabriella Montez, who hadn't had any trust in him, who had abandoned him after seeing him with that cheerleader – alright, it had been a very convincing sight, he had to admit -, who had refused to speak to him afterwards and who had become his enemy. Damn, this was messed up. But that still didn't change anything about his feelings. And so he didn't even found himself surprised as his blood began boiling at the sight of Brandon that near to Gabriella and requiring a kiss.

And that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. He knew that she wouldn't give into Brandon, not for the life of her. "Come on, Brie, just one kiss!" Gabriella, who had been at the point of turning around and get going, froze dead in her tracks. It wasn't the suggestion – if she was used to anything in this world, then it was Brandon's constant trying to get a kiss from her – that made her sick, it was the name. He had called her Brie. And the only person who had ever called her that before in her entire life was standing in one of the corners right now. And he, too, was near the freezing point.

Having been boiling only minutes before, his temperature had decreased within seconds after hearing Brandon calling the brunette 'Brie'. His insides had frozen completely, as had his facial features. Who the hell did that jerk think he was, calling his ex-girlfriend with the nickname Troy had given her? Neither he nor Gabriella could believe it. And that was the point Troy decided to step in, seeing Gabriella wasn't anywhere near ready to move again. "Grant!" His voice was cold, colder than anyone had ever heard him. And they all understood. They all understood that Brandon had probably just made one of his bigger mistakes in life.

Gabriella's head, however, had flung towards him as soon as she heard him. She swallowed hard. Jesus, he had overheard their whole conversation, he had been there the entire time. Why the hell hadn't she seen him as she had searched the spare teenagers for any of her friends? It didn't really matter anyways, because he was already coming towards her and Brandon. Walking painfully slow, the students lined up for him, forming an alley he could walk through. His jaw was set, Gabriella noticed, and he looked like he had had a sleepless night, just like her.

Meeting his gaze, she blushed deeply, remembering the last time they had seen each other. But at this specific moment Troy cared more about Brandon than about Gabriella standing only five steps away from him, probably just as confused as he himself was. However, now it was more important to sort Brandon out. Preferably without taking Gabriella's side too much, otherwise people would notice something had happened between them. And he wouldn't have too much problems, seeing as Brandon was already white as though he had seen a ghost. Of course he had known that it was the name Troy had used on her, but he hadn't known that he still cared. Which he obviously did.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?", the basketball captain demanded, eyes set on Brandon's face, not leaving it for a second. The coldness that seemed to emit from him gave Gabriella goose bumps. She had never before seen him this angry. Well, except after the one time she had refused to talk to him, the only time he had tried to explain things to her about the incident. He had been pretty angry to that time. Anyways, Troy was already going on: "I believe she told you to let her alone, didn't she? When do you think of learning to respect a girl's wishes?" Gabriella nearly snorted. Hadn't he been the one who hadn't respected a girl's wishes? A wish to not being cheated on, for example? She was pretty sure that it had been him.

But who was she to intervene in this, especially for he was trying to save her from Brandon? Which brought her to think about why he did it. She really couldn't figure it out… Unless he was really worked up by Brandon calling her Brie. And she didn't know why he would care about that. He couldn't possibly be mad. That was just risible. But then again, Troy's look spoke volumes. And his words did too. "And just a little counsel for the future: I would heavily advise you to stay away from her, got it?" And on afterthought he added: "And every other girl that doesn't want you near her, are we clear?"

Brandon looked as though he had actually gotten it for once. But that didn't mean that he knew what was good for him. "Then shouldn't you be following your own advice and stay away from our little Brie over here?" He nodded sharply in Gabriella's direction; she had closed her eyes at hearing her nickname for the second time. "I don't think she's very keen on having to fight with you every two hours…" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Troy had already closed the space that had been left between himself and Brandon and had grabbed him at his collar. His mouth dangerously near to Brandon's ear, he hissed so nobody could hear: "Don't you ever call her Brie again!"

Desperately trying to breath, Brandon nodded fearfully. Nobody ever objected to Troy Bolton and it looked like Brandon had just learned that lesson. Satisfied that Brandon had agreed with him, Troy let go of him and took a few steps backwards. It was only then that he noticed that the entire hall had become silent. He cursed silently. Now he had the undivided attention from everybody here and that was the last thing he needed to deal with. All the gossip that would be flowing around after this little run-in with Brandon wouldn't be too pretty. And he didn't know if he had the nerve to once again fully ignore whatever was being told about him and Gabriella.

However, he didn't have much time to think about that, as he was already interrupted by Brandon, who had taken a few steps backwards. Thinking himself safe, he had gained his audacity back and once again started a try to throw him off. "Why do you care, Bolton? It's not like the two of you are going out or anything. You don't even like each other!" Troy threw a quick look to Gabriella, who had gone red in her face. Both thinking back to the kiss the day before, they tried to stay unobvious. Troy's mind was racing. He definitely needed a reason to blow up against Brandon, otherwise there would be speculating going on as to why he had intervened in his and Gabriella's little chat. But how to do so without getting tot obvious that all he was doing was trying to compensate the fact that he did care that Brandon had hit on his ex-girlfriend?

Despairingly searching his brain for a good excuse, he let his eyes wonder around the hall. Everyone who met his gaze lowered their eyes, not knowing how their golden boy would react to that question. It was bad luck that Troy wasn't the best of a thinker when he was put under a lot of pressure. "Who said I care? I think in the last years we made it more than clear that we want nothing to do with each other and that won't change as long as I'm in control of myself." Purposely not looking to Gabriella, he carried on: "I don't even know if she actually wanted anyone to cut in that lovely conversation of yours, maybe she likes having you on her back constantly. At least that's what you could think if she continues leading you on, but I for one am sick of your daily disputes, you could at least take it to somewhere more private!" He didn't even notice that he was contradicting himself. Hadn't he just called for Brandon to leave Gabriella alone completely? But it didn't matter, as anyone was way too agitated to think about that little detail.

Brandon starred at him, mouth hanging wide open. That didn't fit. He wasn't the cleverest, but he knew that what Troy had just said didn't fit to what he had said only minutes ago. But it wasn't as if anyone would believe him if he pointed that out. So he just remained standing in his position, not knowing what to do now. Troy decided to assist him. "What are you still doing here? Get lost, Grant!" Brandon hurried off, a confused look on his face. Sighing with relief, Troy turned around to walk away, desperately hoping that everybody would forget what they had witnessed here in a few days. But Gabriella didn't plan to let him off the hook this easily. He had insulted her, for God's sake!

"So you think I've been leading him on?" Her voice echoed through the hall, anger clearly displayed in it. Troy had to get a hold of himself, otherwise he would have let out a loud groan. He couldn't believe she, too, bought the crap he had just sold Brandon. She couldn't be serious. Turning to her, he could see that her eyes were blasting with fire and her jaw was set in the same way his had been as he had interrupted Brandon. That spelled trouble. And how right he was. Gabriella was seething, all feelings of gratefulness towards him gone at the suggestion she was leading Brandon on.

How could he? He knew… he knew that she couldn't stand Brandon! So why the hell was he claiming that bullshit? Was it just because he had needed a reason for everybody watching? A reason as to why he had stepped in? Well, she knew his reason. At least, she thought so. He was afraid that anyone would find about the kiss between them. Having heard her comment she would rather kiss him than Brandon had to have been a shock for him. Had he actually thought she was going to play that card in getting Brandon off her back? Well, if he thought that low of her, maybe she should have done it.

And once again she was breathing fire and brimstone. He was the only one who could drive her up the wall. And he was doing it very well; he didn't even need to say anything. One look from him and she went over the edge owing to her anger. As to why she was trying everything to get his shirt out. "Well, let me tell you: I haven't been. I haven't been leading him on, I'm not doing it and I will never do it. And you certainly don't need to worry, I've been lying to him when I said I would much rather kiss you than him. I don't even want to imagine how disgusting kissing you would be."

Troy blinked. Once. Twice. So she wanted to cope with things this way? Denying they had ever happened? Denying that there had been a kiss? And she had responded to it? Well, he surely didn't intend to do that. Not after he had realized that he still had feelings for her, on which he had acted beforehand. "Oh yeah? Then tell me why you kissed back yesterday afternoon. If it was so disgusting, then why didn't you pull away?" For about one minute it was dead silent. Then there were screams all around the hall. Damn it, he had forgotten that they were being watched. Swallowing hard, he tried to regain his calm, but found it rather difficult to do so.

He had given away that he had kissed her. Given it away to half the population of East High. And by no later than one hour everyone around here would know it. There was no way to stop the gossip mills of the school once they had been set to movement. And he wasn't the only one to comprehend that. Gabriella did, too. Agape, she starred at him, unbelieving he had really had the guts to tell. Gagging in shock, she couldn't find herself able to answer his question and he noticed. He had to say something; otherwise he would be in for a life in hell, once she came back to her senses.

Too bad that what he was going to say wasn't going to make it any better. "Let me guess: Because you liked it?" He couldn't believe himself, what had gotten into him? He didn't know and oddly enough he didn't care. But now Gabriella had gotten able to speak again. "Eww, Bolton, don't flatter yourself too much, your ego is already oversized; it doesn't need any more delirious thoughts! I only didn't pull back because I was run-over by you. It's not like your kisses are that good", several gasps could be heard from girls who definitely thought otherwise, "and they certainly haven't improved since the last time I kissed you!"

She was successful. Trying to get him worked up had been a full-scale prosperity. So now he wasn't only a cheater, but a bad kisser? He didn't even believe one word coming out of her mouth. Stepping up to her, he challenged her: "Oh yeah? Well, how come that I know you want more?" He didn't even give her time to reply – her shocked face said enough – and smirked slightly. He knew that she hadn't expected this and she sure as hell wasn't prepared for him to make a move on her. And he was right. Gabriella didn't think she could trust her ears, hearing Troy's pronouncement.

He actually claimed she longed for another kiss from him? It's not as if you could deny that anyways, a little voice inside her head taunted, but she shook her head. That was so not right; of course she didn't want to be kissed by him again! She hated him, for God's sake, all she wanted was to forget the other day. But it didn't look like Troy was on the same page there. Putting all his eggs into one basket, he leaned in and captured her lips… in front of the whole school.

Pulling her to him, his hands sneaked around her waist. Gabriella let him draw her into him; she was too dazed that he actually dared to do this in school where everyone was watching as to object him. And then everything else was forgotten, as soon as she felt his tongue grazing her lower lip, begging for entry once again. Resisting him at first, she couldn't help but let out a little gasp, as he pushed her into him even more. Appreciatively, Troy took his chance and let his tongue slip into her mouth, meeting her tongue for a battle of dominance. Finally giving into him, Gabriella threw her arms around his neck, loosing herself in the kiss.

East High's students couldn't believe their eyes. Whatever they had expected for this day to bring, it hadn't been this. Had someone told them only one hour before now that they would get to see their golden boy and East High's queen kissing as though there was no tomorrow, they would have laughed them off. And now here they were, seeing it actually happen. And both Troy and Gabriella didn't seem willing to pry their lips loose anytime soon. And they didn't, indeed. Fully ignoring the shouts of either happiness or consternation, they both continued to kiss, more and more getting into it.

But what both of them hadn't considered was the fact that they were still standing in the school's entrance hall. And in school it wasn't unusual for teachers to show up. Especially when it was the last thing you needed to deal with. And so it wasn't really surprising that their kiss was interrupted by a slicing voice. "Mr. Bolton, Miss Montez! Detention, both of you! I won't condone any public display of affection in this school, understood?" Hearing the voice of the principal, Gabriella freed herself from Troy as fast as possible. Both of them were standing there, faces flustered and surrounded by at least two-hundred other students. And facing a very angry looking headmaster.

"I believe that our dear music teacher still needs help for the planned choir performance. Therefore you two will attend for detention on Monday next week. And until then I wish to never see something like this again!" Huffing, he turned on his heel, retreating to his office. Gabriella watched after him, too confounded to face Troy. Hell, this was the exact opposite from what she had intended to do. She was sure that kissing someone in public wasn't comprehended under staying as far away from someone as possible. And she couldn't keep doing this. Not if she still wasn't sure about what she was feeling… towards him and about what had happened in Sophomore Year.

Damn, she needed a break from all of this. "Practice is in free period!", she told him sharply, not even knowing how to address him anymore. Bolton or Troy? Calling someone with their last name wasn't really appropriate if you had already kissed them twice. But she didn't know how he and everyone else would react to her suddenly calling him by his first name. Due to that she just left him unaddressed and assumed he would get she meant him… there was no one else she could mean. Turning, she too got going, breaking through the crowd that willingly gave way, unaware of the fact that Troy was watching her every move.

*

Eventually, free period had arrived, much to Gabriella's dismay. She had managed to avoid Troy the entire morning, blocking him out whenever he was in the same class as her and shutting herself from the rest of the class. The only persons she had spoken to since having kissed him had been Taylor and Sharpay. The two of them had been more than upset with her, having heard the 'exiting news' from the gossip mills and not from Gabriella herself. But how was she supposed to tell them? 'Good morning to you two, practice is at free period and, by the way, I've kissed Troy once again?' That wasn't exactly a dialog she would prefer to conduct.

And her best friends had gotten a hold of themselves relatively quickly, both wanting to know every little detail. She had told them the short version, and now at least Taylor seemed to understand in what dilemma Gabriella was. Her best friend was of two minds, obviously, and she didn't know how to behave. Understandable, seeing as Troy didn't seem to think before he acted on his feelings and didn't even try to give Gabriella the help she needed. And getting her worked up first, just to kiss her afterwards wasn't exactly something Taylor would call helping.

So, on the way to the gym, she threw a helpless look to Gabriella. But the brunette just shrugged, as if to say it didn't matter. But it did matter. A lot. She hadn't been unable to follow the teachers' implementations for nothing. Nowhere near being up to keeping track because thinking of Troy and his lips on hers, she had gotten into trouble way more than one time and everybody had noticed. And nearly everyone had guessed the right reason. Having spread around the school in record time, the rumours hadn't been taken well by most of the girls, which once again had led to very ugly confrontations with them. And Gabriella had hated it.

She blamed Troy. Although she knew only too well that she was just as responsible for the kiss as him. But he had been the one to lean in first, he had initiated it. So theoretically he was the one to blame for this detention she had gotten. He really was wasting her time as well as his own. Inadvertently she let a smile flicker across her face. The kiss had been mind-blowing… No! The little voice in her mind was taking action again. You won't think that, you can't. No matter how good his kisses are, there still is the actuality that he cheated on you! And you can't just forgive him for that! He'll only hurt you again!

Couldn't she? Couldn't she forgive him? She didn't know. A part of her wanted to… wanted to forgive him so badly that it nearly hurt. But the other – and much bigger – part remembered how she had suffered the first time. And the kissed weren't going to change all that. With that plastered in her mind, she entered the gym, Sharpay and Taylor right behind her. Instantly she was greeted by many, all those who had been quicker than her. Which were a lot, given that she had been really slow and trying to delay the moment she would have to face him again. But now she was here and she would concentrate on the dancing… and only the dancing.

And as the other members of either basketball team or dancing squad arrived in dribs and drabs, she just started the music and supervised all of the other couples, since Troy hadn't arrived by now. And she was really satisfied with what she got to see. Having learnt the steps quite quickly, the dancing routine was nearly completed and Gabriella's smile got bigger with each pair she passed by. Absolutely occupied with the advancing of her squad, she didn't even notice Troy enter the gym. But she detected the news at least since the entire gym fell silent.

She didn't even need to turn around to know who had come. It was obvious. Nobody else could have such an effect on so many people. And she supposed that they were all curious as to how she would react to him, having heard the gossip about the two of them kissing in the hallway. However, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction to know what he had caused. Turning around with ease, she plainly smiled at him and said off-handed: "You're late!" Troy just shrugged, matching her smile from top to bottom to show her he wouldn't be making any more problems.

Her smile got wider and he seemed to get the message of her thankfulness, because he winked at her. Gabriella rolled her eyes playfully. He just couldn't help doing it, could he? But that little gesture took a load off her mind. Maybe they could try getting along first and then… well, the future was as dubious as ever.

*

After practice, Gabriella stayed behind. All the others had left already, but she had to check the gym to make sure they hadn't left anything behind. Having brought their choreography written down with her, she didn't want anyone finding it, especially no one from the dancing squad. She didn't know what could happen if Amber became aware of her dancing system. She knew Amber only too well and now that Troy had broken up with her and kissed her sworn enemy in publicity, Gabriella was sure that Amber was seething. And who knew what exactly a girl feeling betrayed was capable off?

It was better not to leave any signs behind, especially since Gabriella knew that they would hold a practice in lunch break. After throwing one last look through the gym, she took her bag and left the gym, actually whistling on her way to German class. Right now, everything went well and she didn't have to worry about anything too difficult. It was just bad that that was going to change any minute now. Right before turning a corner, she heard two voices, one soothing and one infuriated coming from inside the girls' bathroom. Curious she stopped at the door, trying to catch pieces of the conversation.

Five minutes later she was more than glad to have done that. Instantly having recognized the livid voice as Amber's and the other one as Sarah's, one of Amber's closest friends, Gabriella caught important scraps of the conversation, giving away the topic. Her and Troy's kiss. Of course, what else could get Amber that worked up? Now being interested more than ever, Gabriella didn't even think of walking away. She stayed put behind the door, trying to catch even more. She knew that it was sneaky and nothing she herself normally would have approved of, but right now she frankly didn't care.

That Amber would be furious about the kiss… well, that had been clear from the very beginning. Admittedly, Gabriella would have never thought that she would think of ways to get Troy back. She nearly had to laugh. There was nobody Amber could get him back from; he wasn't with anybody at the moment. And if Amber thought she was going out with him, then she was just dumb. But obviously she did think so. And after hearing Amber complaining on and on about her and Troy, Gabriella slowly got bored. If Amber was just going to talk about how outraged she was, then that was nothing what was important for her to hear.

But before she could actually get going again, Amber seemed to calm herself down in an unbelievable short amount of time. Used to her yelling by now, Gabriella nearly got a shock as she suddenly heard her speaking easefully again. "But I'm not going to just keep out of that, you can bet on that, Sarah!" The ears-dropping girl outside sighed quietly. Of course. It would have been way too easy if Amber would stop interfering with her life over night. "It's going to be a walk in the park to separate them again. We just need a repeat of last time, you know? And I'm not averse to taking Tiara's old part this time." Gabriella could just imagine the dirty smile playing on Amber's lips. She was one to get satisfaction out of ruining another person's life.

"And it won't be just as difficult as last time. I don't think that Montez already has rebuilt her trust for Troy. It'll be easy to bring out the old distrust again; Tiara has managed to breed discord quite well last time. And if she catches him with another girl again, Gabriella will finally think he's a cheater for good. And who wants someone like that as a boyfriend?" Her laugh was evil and Sarah joined in only seconds later. "Technically it's her own fault. Who's that dumb to think Troy would ever get with Tiara? Really, I haven't seen anyone so much unlike his taste in girls since a very long time!"

Gabriella snorted. That was where they were right. If she recalled correctly, Tiara had blonde hair and was as skinny as a rake. Troy didn't go for those girls. Wait, what was that? If he would never go for those girls, then why had he cheated on her with one? And what had Tiara's part been?

It took a few moments until it dawned on Gabriella. Troy hadn't cheated on her. Tiara had set it up, she had been the one to send Gabriella the text and she had let it look as if Troy was cheating on her. Oh God! What had she done? Instantly falling into panic-mode, Gabriella couldn't think clear anymore. What was she going to do? Well, the first decision was made by others than her, as she heard steps coming from the inside. Quickly withdrawing her head, she hid behind the opening door, as Amber and Sarah came out. "You'll see… Montez is in for the greatest shock of her life!" was the last thing she heard Amber saying before they were out of earshot.

And it was a safe bet to say that Gabriella was shocked. And not only shocked, but both feeling embarrassed and angry at the same time. How could she have mistrusted Troy? How could she have believed he had cheated on her? She had always assumed herself as someone with common sense, so why hadn't it kicked in as she had accused him of cheating? They had been in love, hell, why should he have cheated on her? And how could Tiara have dared to set her up like that? How could she possibly have dared to make her and Troy the victims of her own evil schemes? And how could she, Gabriella, have fallen for that? Feeling guiltier than she had ever done in her whole life, Gabriella turned on her heel, letting the door fall closed with a loud bash.

*

Knowing that it was no use to stay at school any longer, Gabriella decided to skip the last classes of the day. On her way home, she couldn't think of anything else but the fact that she had done wrong by Troy. He hadn't cheated on her, he had been telling the truth all the times he had tried to convince her off that. Oh god, how dumb could she get? She should have trusted him, it was no wonder that he hated her. She didn't deserve anything else, he had every right to shut her out of his life for good. The only thing that confused her was that he didn't seem to do it. He was doing quite the reverse, trying to get her into his life again. Why else had he kissed her?

But why did he do that? She had done him wrong; he had done nothing vicious, it was her that had committed the error. Deep in thoughts, she pulled up in the driveway and entered the house, climbing the stairs and letting herself fall on her bed. What should she do now? The apology was already overdue and she didn't even know if he would accept it. He probably would be furious at her for having to hear Amber talking about it to finally see him as innocent. And if they could ever work out this big misunderstanding… what did she expect? Starting over with him? She had feelings for him, there was no denying that. But had he kissed her because he returned her feelings or because he had wanted to prove something either to himself or to her?

And if he actually returned her feelings… would she be able to rebuild her trust in him? Although knowing that he hadn't cheated on her, she heavily doubted that she could confide in him. He hadn't been a cheater back then, well. But what was with his current self? She had witnessed his constant changes of girls and she didn't know why he did that. Had he changed into a player? She was nearly sure of that. And maybe he was just trying to get with her, because she was defiance for him, hence to the fact that they were enemies. She definitely didn't want her heart crushed a second time. Continuing on debating with herself, sleep finally overwhelmed her and allowed her to log-off her brain.

**So, now she knows… and you know, too, what has happened and that Troy isn't a liar at all. Gabriella just didn't want to believe him. Tell me what you think about this chapter? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? ****Tell you what… I've got 105 reviews in total by Sunday evening and you get the next chapter this weekend :D Is that a deal? I sure hope so *lol***

**Until then, **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	12. What are we?

**Wow, guys, I'm impressed! ****Who would have thought that I'd get so many reviews, once I made a promise to update faster than normally? You won't believe how incredibly happy I was to get !!eighteen!! reviews for one chapter! If that were the case every time I posted, I'd be a very happy girl :D So, since you kept your part of the bargain, I'll keep mine: Here it is, the twelfth chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds'. I hope you're all going to enjoy it and that I don't disappoint you in your expectations. Keep the reviews coming; they would make my already perfect day even more perfect. :]**

**So, I guess this chapter is dedicated to HudgensHomie09. I think your review is one of the sweetest I've ever got. Thanks so much for the compliment and for wishing me more reviews. I would very much like to give you a teddy bear such as the one you described, but I'm afraid that won't be possible. So instead, I give you the dedication for this chapter. I really hope that it's payback enough :]**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter: _

_But why did he do that? She had done him wrong; he had done nothing vicious, it was her that had committed the error. Deep in thoughts, she pulled up in the driveway and entered the house, climbing the stairs and letting herself fall on her bed. What should she do now? The apology was already overdue and she didn't even know if he would accept it. He probably would be furious at her for having to hear Amber talking about it to finally see him as innocent. And if they could ever work out this big misunderstanding… what did she expect? Starting over with him? She had feelings for him, there was no denying that. But had he kissed her because he returned her feelings or because he had wanted to prove something either to himself or to her? _

_And if he actually returned her feelings… would she be able to rebuild her trust in him? Although knowing that he hadn't cheated on her, she heavily doubted that she could confide in him. He hadn't been a cheater back then, well. But what was with his current self? She had witnessed his constant changes of girls and she didn't know why he did that. Had he changed into a player? She was nearly sure of that. And maybe he was just trying to get with her, because she was defiance for him, hence to the fact that they were enemies. She definitely didn't want her heart crushed a second time. Continuing on debating with herself, sleep finally overwhelmed her and allowed her to log-off her brain._

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Chapter twelve – What are we?

A new day had begun once again. The sun rose above the sky and it shone more brilliant than the days before. Everything was indicating a sudden rise of the temperature and a beautiful day without any unwelcome surprises. Which was unfortunately only referring to the weather, seeing as the sun had no influence on human's fate whatsoever. And for that point everything was indicating a very uncomfortable day, if you asked Gabriella Montez. Having woken up to the sun beams flooding through the window and meeting up with her face, she had only groaned, not paying the least attention to the wonderful weather. Lacking of sleep due to the fact what had happened the day before, she wasn't a huge fan of going to school right now. And that wasn't the only reason.

How the hell was she going to get through the day? With the knowledge she was now possessing? Heck, what was she supposed to do? Apologize? To someone who she had claimed to hate for the past two years? To someone whose heart she had most likely broken with her distrust in him? To someone who hadn't – not in the slightest – deserved what she had done to him? To someone who had turned into a player after she had crushed him? To someone who had been very content living life without her after a couple of days? To someone to whom she possibly was only a new toy; a challenge to get her despite all their history? To someone who she had begun to fall for head over heels once again?

Gabriella was nearly laughing at herself. She had thought about all of this the entire night long until she had finally fallen asleep and now she brought it up again. Really seemed as if she was trying to torture herself with everything she could. But she couldn't stop thinking about it, how could she ever? And slowly anger built up in her. How had Tiara dared? How had Tiara dared to demolish her life? How had she dared to take Troy away from her with a little scheme? With her plotting, with her evil plan? Gabriella was seething. Once again, as if the two hours she had spent yesterday doing that weren't enough.

How could they all have? Amber, Sarah, Tiara, probably the entire cheerleading squad. How could they have dared to set her up? To set him up? And then possess the cheekiness to send her a text, making sure she would catch them? How could they have! _No! _A little voice inside her head reported back. _Shouldn't you be asking how could _you _have dared to fall for it? How could you have no trust in Troy whatsoever? How could you believe them over him? How could you not even give him a chance to explain himself? To tell you his point of view? How could you just assume he was a cheater?_ Gabriella buried her face in her hands. The voice was right. It was just as much her fault as everyone else's.

Which definitely didn't make things any easier. Groaning once again, she got out of bed, hitting her bed stud in the process. Swearing loudly, she skipped all the way through her room, vanishing into the bath room to take a shower. She desperately hoped that the shower was washing all of her problems away. It would be so easy to just wash them off and let them flow into the waste pipe. It was too bad that former attempts to do so had been vain. Gabriella sighed softly. And it certainly was bad luck that there are things that never change, so that there wasn't even hope to rely on.

Ten minutes later, she felt only vaguely better than beforehand. And even that went down the drain as soon as she paid full attention on the weather for the first time this morning. It was going to get hot. And the last thing she needed today were guys hitting on her, not being able to control their hormones because of the short outfits girls were bound to wear if they didn't want to melt in the warmth. It was not as if she was flaunting herself, but she knew at least one boy who would instantly take advantage of her short outfit. Brandon. _Well, maybe he's not the only one and Troy will forgive you more easily for what you've done to him if he sees you in a miniskirt. _She cursed herself for the sudden whiff of dark humour. _Not funny, Gabriella, _she reminded herself. _This is really nothing to be laughed at. _

With a huff, she went down the stairs, into the empty kitchen. Looking around and feeling the missing life in the house for the first time since her mother had left for her business trip. And for the first time in ten years she once again wished more than everything that her mother would be at home more often. She hadn't had that desire since she had been old enough to comprehend that they needed the money her mother was earning. Well, she had wished for her mother to be home, but she had never taken that desire over her knowledge. But now she was just wishing that her mother would be here, taking her into her arms and telling her what she should do about Troy. And there was nothing that she could use more than an advice of an experienced woman.

And Gabriella knew that her mother would have told her the right thing to do. Sure, she had messed up with her husband, but that had been more his than her fault. _But don't you already know what to do? _The little voice was back. _There is no other option, really. _She sighed. She knew what to do, she knew it so well. But she had to admit that she was scared. More scared than ever before in her life. What would Troy say when she apologized? Hell, she didn't even know what to say. She couldn't just walk up to him and say: "Hey, Troy, I'm really sorry. It was my entire fault, I should have trusted you. I just overheard Amber and Sarah talking about how Tiara set us up; so, please, forgive me." And then just move on with life? That wasn't exactly what was bound to make him forgive her.

_*_

As soon as Gabriella turned into the school's parking lot, she was already out of her car and heading up to school. She needed to talk to her best friends, and she needed to talk to them _before _she met Troy. It was important that she got at least one bit of advice before having to go all of this. And what would be even better: Hopefully she wouldn't have to go through all of this completely alone. She was sure that Taylor and Sharpay would help her as soon as they heard about Tiara's plot. Ejecting a relieved sigh, she saw the two of them leaning against her locker, obviously waiting for her.

She made her way over to them, blocking out the whistles that followed her down the corridor, due to the black miniskirt and the red neck-holder shirt, leaving at least half of her back uncovered. And it didn't help that she was swaying her hips, even if it was unintentionally. Suddenly, three metres before she would have reached her locker, there were hands slipping around her waist, holding her back from walking any further. She immediately stiffened, not knowing what to do. She didn't even know who it was, but was sure that it wasn't Troy. She would have recognized his touch. But judging by the facial expression it wasn't anyone she couldn't stand either, otherwise Sharpay would be breathing fire and brimstone already, especially if it was Brandon.

Turning around curiously, she found herself in Chris' arms. Smiling relieved, she freed herself, starring up at him. "What did you do that for?", she asked him, shoving him playfully away. He was quick with his answer: "Because I don't want you to escape that easily, missy! What did I hear about you and our beloved basketball captain?" His tone was off-handed, but his eyes showed that he was being serious. He didn't know if the rumours were true; he hadn't been in the hall the day before. And he just didn't want to believe anything like this until Gabriella herself did confirm them. Which she did, much to his shock. What the hell had happened to her? The last time he had seen her, she had been all against the idea of ever speaking to Troy ever again and now she had kissed him? In public?

And that wasn't the only thing that was going to shock him this morning. Sensing that Taylor and Sharpay hadn't waited at her locker, but had walked up to her and Chris, she spluttered out what she had been longing to tell them since she had left the house. "He didn't do it!" Her words didn't exactly enlighten her friends. "We're talking about Troy, right?", interrogated Shar, a confused look crossing her face. "He didn't do what?", asked Taylor, scrunching up her nose. "He didn't do it. He didn't cheat on me in Sophomore Year!" Gabriella's voice was showing that she was going to hyperventilate any moment. "Ahh!" A look of understanding flickered across their faces, before they went back to being puzzled. "What?!?!" Sharpay's scream was so loud that it easily over tuned any other noise in the entrance hall.

"Could you please repeat that?" Taylor and Chris had been speaking at the same time. "He… didn't…cheat…on me!" Gabriella emphasized every single word, near a nervous break-down. "What am I going to do, guys? I can't just go and apologize to him; God alone knows how much I hurt him!" The looks on her friends face showed that they couldn't follow her. "Gabriella, what happened? Why do you think that he didn't cheat on you, all of the sudden?" Chris inquired silently, not believing what he was hearing. A wonder had happened. That was the only explanation that was there.

He himself had never really believed in Troy cheating on her, basically because he knew that the sandy-brown haired boy wasn't a cheater. But he had never tried to convince Gabriella of that, plainly because he knew that she wouldn't listen to him. So what had happened that she suddenly changed her mind? He looked her square in the eye, trying to work out the answer to his question, as Gabriella wasn't going to answer it, seeing as she seemed to be all in a fluster. But all he could find there was confusion and fear. Fear because of not knowing what to do, he concluded.

"Gabs, tell us what happened, alright?" This time she seemed to get that she had to. "I overheard Amber and Sarah talking in the girls' bathroom yesterday in lunch time. That was the reason why I skipped the rest of the day, you know?" While she was mentioning that, she noticed that Taylor's face darkened. "Exactly, miss! How could you dare to miss decathlon practice?" She pointed accusingly at Gabriella, but Sharpay impatiently swept her hand away. "So not the point right now, Tay!" Taylor seemed to get back to the situation. Nodding her head, a guilty facial expression, she agreed: "Right. So, what did they say, Gabs?" Gabriella repeated what she had heard the day before. "So, what do I do now?" She desperately looked at her friends, begging for them to show her an expedient.

But they didn't even have a chance to say anything. "Gabriella?" Gabriella's insides turned upside down. _No! Please, God, don't do this to me!_, she begged silently, throwing a horrified glance at Taylor and Sharpay. But both of them just gave her an apologetic shrug, meaning to tell her that they couldn't do anything. Out of the blue, there was a hand on her shoulder, squeezing softly but firmly. It was Troy. There was no doubt. And what would follow now would be the worst moment of Gabriella's entire life, she was sure of it.

*

As Troy entered the school building this morning, his gaze instantly searched for Gabriella. He needed to talk to her. This thing between them couldn't just go on the way it was now. They needed to talk; they needed to work things out. And he wasn't going to let her off easily this time. So he made his way determinedly over to the lockers, as soon as he had spotted her and their friends leaning against them. It was time that he undertook other things than kissing her at random points of the day.

Being only a few steps behind them, he firstly noticed the faces of Sharpay and Taylor, both wavering from shock to astonishment back to shock. Whatever Gabriella was telling them right now… obviously it wasn't pretty. Accomplishing the last metres between him and her, he could only hear her say: "So, what do I do now?" Well, Troy didn't know what she was talking about, but he knew what she would be doing now. She would talk to him. And this time there was no escaping. Grabbing her shoulder in a firm grip, but taking care of not hurting her, he uncertainly let her name spring from his lips. "Gabriella?"

He had felt her stiffen the instant he had dared to touch her and he knew that she knew that it was him. A slight wave of hurt sweeping over him, he chose to try and ignore that. He had to do this and he would do this. It wasn't any less embarrassing for him than it was for her, but he wasn't going to hide away again, waiting for her to make the next move. He had never been one having the nerve to be depending on another human's acting. So he turned her around with just the pressure of his hand, expecting her to start screaming at him immediately. He was surprised all the more that she didn't.

Quite the reverse: She wasn't even looking at him, having cast down her eyes as soon as she felt herself turn around. Damn, why did he have to do this? Why did he have to make this so difficult for her? She wasn't ready, she hadn't even gotten an advice from her friends and she didn't know what she should do or say. What _did _you say after finding out that your enemy wasn't the one you had always judged him to be? She was sure that there was no precedence. But what definitely wouldn't help was standing here, looking bashfully at the ground. So she hesitantly looked up, not certain how he would react to her unusual attitude. She was fully aware of the fact that she wasn't coming up to his expectations.

Troy saw her looking up, but he was more than just confused. What was up with her? And why were Taylor and Sharpay as well as Chris looking at him as though he was going to experience the biggest surprise of his life? And why did he get the feeling that it wasn't going to be a good one? The thoughts floating out of his mind as soon as Gabriella's eyes met his, he tried to give her a smile. But somehow smiling didn't work for him right now. So he decided on simply leaving it out and cleared his throat. "Gabriella, what's up?" She starred at him, unbelieving he had asked such a casual question. Until she got that he didn't want to know how her life was going, but what was the deal about them, the situation, her. And that was the question she would have liked to avoid.

But now it was too late for that. Trying to hold her gaze on his face, she swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. Which was particularly difficult, seeing as she didn't have a clue what to say. Meant that she didn't have them in her mind; what made any kind of search redundant. So she just settled for the first ones coming to her brain. "I'm sorry." Nothing more, just this little apology. Troy didn't think he had heard right. "What?" He starred down at her, incredulous to what she was saying. "That's not a fitting answer to my question, is it?" Gabriella just looked helplessly at him. Troy turned to Chris.

"Chris? What the hell is she trying to do?" He didn't remember anything she should be sorry for… Well, he did remember a lot of things, but nothing for what she actually would apologize. But the boy just shrugged and replied: "I guess, it's better if she tells you, that's really none of my business." And with that he tucked the two other girls at their elbows and vanished with them down the corridor. Troy shook his head. This was getting stranger and stranger. And he very much intended on finding out what was going on. "Gabriella, what's happening? Between us and with you? Just everything!" She continued to ogle at him, not knowing what to say.

_Stupid, Gabriella__. How was he supposed to know for what you're apologizing? Mind-reading isn't in the order of day anymore. _Her little voice was taunting her again, but this time she chose to ignore it. "I don't know, Troy." He blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. But it still didn't make any more sense than it had made beforehand. How could she just say she didn't know? She _had _to know! What where they going to do if nobody knew what to do anymore? Because he didn't know what they were going to do; that was for sure. "What? You have to know, Gabriella. You always know everything!"

It was true. There hadn't been one single time he had witnessed her being without a solution for a problem. And to stay true, he had hoped to never get to see the day she would be completely clueless. But now here he was, standing in front of her, worrying. What the heck did she mean by saying sorry? For what? And why didn't she know what to do? It was unbelievable. "Do I?", her small voice shocked him. Why was she sounding so… so faint? So… so sorry? "If I knew everything… don't you think I would have known you didn't cheat on me?" Alright, Troy admitted. She would have…

Suddenly he snapped. What had she said? "What?!", he asked back. "What would you have known?" She couldn't have… she wouldn't have said that she knew he hadn't cheated on her? "You didn't cheat on me." She said it as if he hadn't known that. "You didn't cheat on me, and I broke up with you nevertheless. I'm so sorry, Troy." Now not able anymore to look away, she searched his face for any signs of emotion, but there was nothing. His worried gaze had changed into an unreadable expression. And there was no indication that he was going to say anything anytime soon. Gabriella felt dizzy. She should have known it. She should have known that he wasn't going to make this easy on her.

"Troy?", she requested an answer. "Say something!" She was practically begging for him to say something. And he did her the favour. "What the hell? You break up with me, resolute on your idea of me cheating on you; you take every chance to make my life miserable; you more or less become one of my enemies and then out of the blue you decide I didn't cheat on you? That's messed up, Gabriella!" Troy had to withhold himself from jetting an unbelieving huff. It wasn't that he was angry, it was just that he was confused beyond belief. Gabriella, however, mistook his actions.

Closing her eyes to hold her tears back that were threatening to fall, she couldn't stand it any longer. It was obvious that he wasn't going to forgive her. Why would he anyways? If he had done this to her, she probably wouldn't forgive him either. She didn't deserve his forgiveness, although she had hoped for it. Not even giving him a chance to finally speak, she turned around on her heel, deciding on absconding from him. She knew that he would start laughing at her as soon as he had regained his presence of mind. And she was sure that she was most likely not capable of standing that. She didn't know what she would do if he rejected her apology and instantaneous it sure did look like he actually would.

And there was no way in hell she would stand still and watch him take away her last bit of self-respect. Not bearing to be near him any longer, she eventually took off, not noticing Troy's attempt to speak as he opened his mouth. And she also didn't notice both the hand that attempted to grab her arm, trying to hold her back, and his regretting facial expression. Watching after her retreating figure, he finally grasped what had just happened. She knew that he hadn't cheated on her. She _knew _it. And at this particular moment Troy didn't bother why she finally had gotten that into her head. She knew it. She believed him. After all this time. And that was the only thing that counted.

The only questions left now were: Why had she taken off? Why hadn't she stayed to see his reaction? Why had she left him standing there dumb-struck once again? And the biggest one of them: What would he do, now that she knew?

*

Troy spent the entire time until free period thinking over the questions and their answers. And to his biggest shock he didn't know even one single answer. He could only assume and he didn't really like his postulations. One was worse than the other and that was worse than another one. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. And he knew only one way to have at least a slight chance of working all of this out. He had to go to dancing practice. He was sure that Gabriella hadn't cancelled it. Beating Amber was overbidding any eventualities. She would never give that up. And so it wasn't a surprise that he really found them in the gym, already training hard.

What was a surprise, however, was the girl entering the gym only two minutes after Troy. He hadn't approached the practicing team yet, because he didn't want to disturb Gabriella during her explanation of the next dance move. He would have to talk to her before they started dancing together again and he preferred to not do it in earshot of everyone else. And so he had made up his mind and stayed in the shadow of the hall, watching them from afar. He had noticed that Gabriella wasn't half as relaxed as she was usually, but his attention was pulled off of her as Troy heard the squeaky gym door open. The person that entered was the last he had expected to show up in here to this time.

Having been refracted from the dancing since hearing the door grating, Gabriella had turned around and her mouth fell open in shock. Amber whereas stayed cool, flipping her hair over her shoulder and for a short moment her eyes flickered over to where Troy was standing. Nearly sure that she knew he was there, he hold in his breath, but she didn't make any attempt to approach him. Instead she made a few steps into the middle of the gym and faced Gabriella. "How's it going, loser?" Troy couldn't believe it. Not only was that low, but it was also lame. What was Amber thinking? That Gabriella would break out into sobs by hearing that insult?

If she was thinking that, then she was going to be disappointed. Not even bothering to show an interest in the question, the brunette just gave back: "What are you doing here?" Her voice was cold; so cold it would possibly have managed to freeze better than a refrigerator. But Amber wasn't reacting to her tone. "Oh, nothing special, you know?", she replied, flipping her hair back once again. "I just want to borrow Troy for a short moment!" The still-hidden boy didn't miss Gabriella's flinching at his name. "He's not here!" Her tone was sharper than she had intended to, but when it came to Troy… well, at the moment all it took was his name to nearly throw her over the edge.

Amber just grinned greasily. "That he doesn't want to be seen by you doesn't mean that he's not here, Montez!" Slowly she turned her head to Troy and the eyes of everyone else followed hers. "Why are you hiding in the shadows, Troy sweetie? Come on out." He groaned inwardly. Great! What would Gabriella think of him now, after she had become aware of that he had, indeed, been hiding? But he understood that it was no use staying put where he was standing right now. Strolling over in the most casual way he could do right now, he was very aware that his every move was being watched by at least thirty people. He saw Amber beckoning for him to stand next to her, which was the main reason for him to take his place next to Gabriella.

He watched an offended flicker cross Amber's face, but he really couldn't care less. How the girl besides him was going to react was all that counted. Looking down at the brunette, he saw with hurt that she didn't look up to meet his gaze, avoiding taking a look at him at all costs. Well, if she insisted on doing it this way… "What do you want, Amber? You know you've nothing to do in here." Amber just smiled sweetly at him, in a way that made Troy want to puke. "I just wanted to borrow you for a short moment, darling. Thought I would get you away from those losers in here." Troy felt Gabriella starting to shake next to him; whether it was hurt or rage, he didn't know.

He felt anger flicker inside him and spat: "Stop calling me nicknames, Amber, and especially those. I dumped you, don't you remember? Or do I need to refresh your memory?" From behind him, Troy could hear Chad speaking: "What? He dumped her? Why am I the last to know that?" A thump could be heard. There was no doubt that Taylor had hit him over his head. "Hey! What's that? Why did you do that?" His whiny voice easily over tuned whatever Amber had tried to answer. "Why do you think he kissed Gabriella?", Taylor hissed, seeing that the attention had turned from Troy, Amber and Gabriella to her and Chad.

However, that was changing quickly, as Gabriella decided to finally say something. She had been the only one not even listening to Chad and Taylor's bickering, but had held her attention at Amber. "Why did you really come here? You know that Troy wouldn't come with you. Why should he? You're just here to disturb the peace, aren't you? What's up with you, Amber? Do you get any satisfaction out of messing with other people's lives?" She didn't even need to ask that, it was more than clear. But it had one advantage: Amber's mouth stayed close, eyes widening in shock. She hadn't expected for Gabriella to snap back that acidly. That was more like Sharpay.

Closing and opening her mouth, making her look like a mute fish out of the water, Amber just couldn't find the right come-back. And she didn't need one. "Brie is right." All heads snapped up at hearing Troy calling Gabriella by her old nickname. "Zoom off, alright? If you just want to disturb us, then we've got no use for you and your awful comments. Tempting and insulting her isn't going to work in your favour, Amber, and that's why I'd heavily advise you to cut the crap. Whatever contentions you two have, it's going to be solved at the contest, alright?" He smirked slightly, remembering that the reason that all this had been started had been he himself.

To his luck both girls missed the grin. Instead they both took to glare with intense hate at each other. "You'll never get him!", Amber eventually spat, before turning around and leaving the gym, head exalted in pride. "Who says I'm _trying _to get him?" Gabriella's reply went unheard, since Amber had already slammed the door behind her. Swallowing hard, Gabriella noticed her being close to Troy for the first time. Sure she had noticed that he hadn't stopped next to Amber and she had felt him near her, but she hadn't put her mind in it. But now, being attentive, she felt more than uncomfortable. Having regretted running off as soon as she had gotten to think again, she knew that this cause wasn't finished.

And if she had stayed, then maybe they would already have worked this out. Even knowing that he thought low of her would be better than this … knowing nothing. Because now she would have to try to get through this without having put it straight what was the matter with them, seeing as she wouldn't discuss their private lives in front of nearly everyone, even if they were her friends. The only problem was that Troy looked as if he was going to force her to discuss this. And she would do everything to obstruct that. It wasn't as if it could go on like this forever, it was unstoppable. It was bound to happen sooner or later and Gabriella definitely preferred later.

"Okay, guys! After this little episode, I guess it's time to get working… after all we want to beat her, don't we?" For a few minutes everyone was speechless. How could she switch from cold and distant to perky and warm in just a matter of seconds? But then again it didn't really matter. They all wanted to beat Amber, especially after this. And so there was no one complaining, not even Troy. And already two minutes later everyone was ready for a complete rehearsal. It was time to put all sections of the dance together, so they could see if everything went the way they wanted it to.

Gabriella pressed 'play' on the recorder and flitted back into her position. Directly in Troy's arms. Alright, there was nothing she could to do prevent that, the only thing she was hoping was that he wouldn't tell her how he thought of her while they were dancing, because she was sure that she wouldn't get the dancing moves right if he did. And he seemed to know it, for he stayed quiet the entire dance long. Instead they were listening to the lyrics of the song; the song that had meant something to the both of them.

It hadn't been the lyrics – hell, they hadn't fitted in the slightest back then -, it had been the memory of the dancing contest that had made the song so special. But now, listening to them again for the first time in about two years, it somehow described their present lives. Letting the song wash over her, Gabriella concentrated more on the lyrics than on the dancing, but thanks to all her practice she didn't mess up, seeing as she had done this countless times before. She nearly smiled at how perfectly well the text suited her and him. Wasn't she always asking herself why it had to be Troy she had fallen for? And she had tried to deny it all the time... And what the song was saying about sometimes being up against the wall and being kissed by him… Gabriella grew red with embarrassment. That was definitely the most fitting part of the entire text.

Troy was observing Gabriella and to the same time he managed to get her and himself through the dance, while profoundly trying to hold himself back from shower her with all his unrequited questions. He knew that she wasn't really concentrating, having nearly missed out on a beat a few seconds ago. And he was sure that he knew what she was thinking about… the same things as him. Those lyrics really fitted well… so well it was somehow scary. But everything in that text was true. Hanging in his thoughts for a while, he nearly missed the part where he should have let her go into the Pirouette. But it seemed like Gabriella had managed to come back from her thinking and broke loose from Troy. Spinning herself around, she nearly lost her balance, but once again Troy was there to prevent her from falling.

Giving her a gentle shove into the right direction while sinking down, she went back to dancing without having missed a single move. Gratitude towards him spread through Gabriella's body. If he hadn't done that, then she would be lying on the ground at this specific moment. And he hadn't let her fall. Did that mean he still wasn't that mad at her? Shaking her head, she tried to concentrate on the dance. If she completely spaced out now, then the lifting figure would end as a total disaster. Suddenly she freaked. What was if he didn't hold her this time? What if he let her fall to the ground because he wanted payback for all the time she had been mean to him because of something he hadn't done?

_Now you've really__ gone nuts, haven't you, Gabriella? Really, that's pathetic. Thinking he would let you fall… where the hell have you been the last years? He would never do that! _Gabriella swallowed. He had called her 'Brie' just a couple of minutes ago. He had given her assistance for her last dance move. He had never let her down. Of course he wouldn't start becoming vengeful now. Running up to him and jumping off the ground, she saw his hands grabbing for her waist and felt them encircling her only milliseconds later. She was safe. He hadn't let her down. And he never would.

With a newly found self-confidence, she accomplished the last steps of the dance, taking to observe the other pairs carefully. They were good. All of them had managed to get to the last steps and obviously no one was hurt. Which was a very good sign. And then everything was over. The last beats of the music faded away and she found herself back in Troy's arms. Breathing more lightly than last time, she starred into his piercing eyes. They were full of emotions and she was sure that hers were too. And once again she thought back to the song lyrics and knew they were right. She didn't want to like him… but she did.

And her cognizance had to have been displayed in her eyes, because Troy couldn't seem to resist anymore. Having sworn to himself the day before he would never again kiss her before they hadn't sorted things out, he completely forgot about that and leant in. And this time his lips didn't meet hers in a passionate kiss. No, this time they were taking it slower and much more sensitive. Moving his lips against hers until he felt her kiss back, he slowly grazed her lips with his tongue, gaining access the instant he did so. Not battling for dominance, he just took to exploring her mouth like an unfamiliar territory, although he did know her mouth inside out.

Letting one of her hands tangle itself up in the sandy-brown hair and one slipping around his neck, Gabriella felt his hands encircle her waist and pulling her more to him. Responding to his soft lips moving on hers, she felt the far too conversant sparks flaming up in her stomach, the ones that had been there all those years ago. The ones that had been missing for the past two years. And the ones she had never expected to ever feel again. A warm feeling washed through her, but it couldn't overlay the feeling of confusion that was brought with it. Feeling his lips part from hers, she hesitantly entangled her hand and let it slip from his hair over his cheek until it was hanging loosely alongside her body again.

Nobody spoke, not even the other teenagers in the room made a noise; even though you could tell that most of the girls were trying so hard to keep back a pleased sigh. This was so romantic! Gabriella, however, couldn't tell if it was romantic. For her it was more confusing than anything else. "Wow. That was… unexpected." As soon the words had left her mouth, she was swearing at herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, Gabriella! You didn't have anything better in store, had you? Really… unexpected! That was the best you could come up with?_ She shook her head inwardly. What had she been thinking? If she had been thinking at all….

"Was it?" Troy belted out a short laugh. "I don't think so. Quite the contrary, I thought it was pretty obvious this was bound to happen." He looked at her with a heart-warming smile tucking at his lips. He hadn't noticed – or better, he hadn't paid attention to it, but now there was no way missing it. He had forgiven her… had forgiven her a long time ago, actually. She couldn't have possibly known that he didn't cheat on her… sure, she should have listened, but to be honest… he didn't know if he himself would have listened to her if he had caught her kissing another boy. But now she knew… she knew he hadn't cheated and that was everything that counted. And in his opinion they should really try to work this out… talk about it, apologize – each on their part – and maybe… start over? He still had feelings for her and he was pretty sure that she had, too, according to the way she responded to his kisses.

So now there was only one question left: What were they? Where did they stand to each other? Had she even once thought about giving them another chance? Seeing the way she gazed at him, he was sure that she hadn't. But how couldn't she? They had kissed, for God's sake. And not only once, no. It had been two times, three if they counted the one from just now in. What was holding her back from telling him what she wanted from him? He was about to get his answer.

"Why was it bound to happen, Troy? Heaven, you said it yourself: First I hurt you, break your heart and then I come saying sorry after two years! Two freaking years, Troy! And it wasn't like I decided to believe _you_! No, I had to hear it from Amber to get it into my stubborn head! Why the hell would you want to kiss me after all of that?" Her voice had gone from sounding lost, to sounding shrill and a mixture of desperation and disbelief. Troy's throat went dry. "What does Amber have to do with this?", he asked her, his voice hoarse. "They planned it. They planned every fucking detail of it. Tiara just had to follow you after you had played basketball, wait until you got in the shower, get your mother to let her in and take your cell phone to send me a text. And then she kissed you, hoping I would get to see it… or even more."

She was barely audible, her voice teary and suffocated. Troy's face went hard, hearing all of this from Gabriella. He silently vowed to himself that Amber would pay for this. It was just a shame that Tiara had already moved. She would have wished to, anyway, after he would have finished with her. But so he'd have to be satisfied with paying Amber back. However, he had to do something first. Seeing Gabriella standing helplessly in front of him, waiting for a reaction, his heart nearly melted into pieces. Raising his hand to her cheek, he looked her deep in the eye, wiping the tear that fell down her cheek away with his thumb.

"But that what really matters is that you know that I didn't cheat. How you got to that cognizance doesn't matter.", he softly assured her, not even perceiving most of the dancers and basketball players leaving the gym, wanting to give the couple a bit privacy. In the end it was only Taylor, Sharpay and Becky, who had been held back from leaving by tripping over her own feet, who remained. "But how can that not matter to you? I hurt you!" Now Gabriella's voice wasn't above a whisper and Troy had to lean in slightly to hear her. Getting vaguely frustrated at her question, he briefly closed his eyes.

Why didn't she understand? Why didn't she understand that it was just as much his fault as hers and that he was just as sorry as her? He had let Tiara stay, he hadn't thrown her out. She wasn't the only one to blame and he knew it. And he knew that it had been the biggest mistake of his life, a mistake that he was intending on ironing out. "It doesn't matter to me because I like you, Brie. Very much." Opening his eyes again, he met her uncertain look and he couldn't help himself. He leant in again, capturing her lips and kissing her in the most feelingly way ever.

He sensed her lips against his and he only pulled back as he felt something wet hit his nose. Shocked to see tears streaming down her face, he stood there, unable to help in any way. What was wrong? He didn't know and he was afraid he wasn't going to find out. How was he supposed to know that it was just fear taking over Gabriella? This wasn't anything like she had expected of the day and it scared her. It scared the wits out of her and she didn't know what to do. And so she did the first thing coming to her mind. She ran. The escape instinct kicking in, she spun around, taking off as fast as she could.

And once again Troy was watching her running from him and if it was possible it hurt even more than two years ago. His heart crumbling, he didn't have the faintest clue what was going on right now. But apparently he was the only one there. Full of confidence, the three girls who had remained in the gym strode over to him, patting his back with participation and following his eyes riveted on Gabriella's disappearing figure. "Don't worry, Troy. She'll come to her senses eventually.", Sharpay told him, smiling at him.

He only threw her a doubting glance. Right now he wasn't so sure. "You sure you're not just trying to pick up the pieces, Shar?" The blonde nodded with poise. "She loves you, Troy, there's no doubt. She just needs to clear her head a bit, you know? Working out what exactly she feels and what she wants. Girls are a little bit more complicated than boys." Troy looked at her, appreciating her words. "And is there anything I can do to quicken things up?" This time it was Becky who answered. "Do something sweet. Something that'll convince her that you're right for her. That you love her. That you know her and that you know what she wants."

Taylor nodded supportive. "She's right, think of something!" And he thought. Thought until he got an idea. "I've got it!" And suddenly there was a spark of hope flashing through his eyes. He had waited for two years. He surely could wait a few days longer. And in the meantime he would do anything to convince Gabriella of what she wanted. Him.

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**Now, won't you look at that? Now everything's out in the open and Gabriella's not that sure of what she'll make of it. While Troy wants her back. Who's of the opinion that Gabriella's being a tad bit difficult in this? I can tell you I am. But I can't really complain, can I? After all, I wrote this :] Anyways, I'll make you a second deal. Fifteen reviews or more until Wednesday evening and you get the next one then? So, who wants to see what Troy's got up his sleeve to convince Gabriella of being his again? And how desperately do you want to know? It's all up to you. *grins evilly***

**So, until Wednesday or the weekend, **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	13. Fighting for love

**Hey! So, originally I feared that I would have to wait until the weekend to put it up, but then I got a message by FFN with the fifteenth review, so here's the next chapter.**** I just hope that everyone will like it, because the end's coming nearer and nearer. And however sad that is… it can't go on forever^^. And I'll do my very best to come up with a few new stories in the near future… and especially focus on finishing 'First Bad Habit'. I know I told you guys that it would be up a few days ago, but I couldn't get to writing the ending, because well, it's supposed to be happy and I was a little bit sad lately, so it was very hard to write and I didn't want to spoil it, so I left it for a few days. I'll do my very best, though, to finish it up as soon as possible. **

**No long author's note this time, since I don't have much time anyways. So, let's get on with the thirteenth chapter of this story:**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_He only threw her a doubting glance. Right now he wasn't so sure. "You sure you're not just trying to pick up the pieces, Shar?" The blonde nodded with poise. "She loves you, Troy, there's no doubt. She just needs to clear her head a bit, you know? Working out what exactly she feels and what she wants. Girls are a little bit more complicated than boys." Troy looked at her, appreciating her words. "And is there anything I can do to quicken things up?" This time it was Becky who answered. "Do something sweet. Something that'll convince her that you're right for her. That you love her. That you know her and that you know what she wants."_

_Taylor nodded supportive. "She's right, think of something!" And he thought. Thought until he got an idea. "I've got it!" And suddenly there was a spark of hope flashing through his eyes. He had waited for two years. He surely could wait a few days longer. And in the meantime he would do anything to convince Gabriella of what she wanted. Him._

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Chapter thirteen – Fighting for love

As Gabriella was leaving her house on Thursday morning, she had not expected something like this. She would have expected that she'd simply walk to her car, jump into it and drive to school, determined to finally talk to Troy. The contest was only one day – what a frightening thought – away and with their confusing feelings it could only lead to a complete mess. And so their only option was to get things straight. She knew that. She had known it the moment she had stormed out of the gym, leaving Troy and her friends behind. And therefore she had spent the entire night thinking about her feelings. What was she feeling about him? And what would she do about it?

It had taken her until the early morning hours to figure it out, which was why she was having an immense amount of lacking sleep. Gabriella rubbed her eyes and turned around after having closed the front door, walking up to her car. Or better, trying to walk up to her car, seeing as she didn't come very far. In due time, she looked down, just being able to avoid stamping on a very small packet. She could see from the size of it that it would have been fatalistic to do so. Whatever was in it, it wasn't made for surviving a human being putting his whole weight on it.

Carefully stepping aside and bending forward to pick the parcel up, she firstly noticed that it was wrapped in turquoise wrapping paper. Turning it over and over, she couldn't find a consignor address on it, only a name written across it. And what was the most surprising was that it was hers. Gabriella. Clearly written on the paper with a black pen. Nothing more, just plainly her name on an amber-coloured wrapping paper. And surprisingly she didn't need more to know who had sent this to her. It had been a personal ritual between them to wrap their gifts in a paper matching their first letter of their names. This had neither of them given much choice.

And he still remembered it. Not only remembered, but used it again. Anticipating what was in it, Gabriella carefully undid the paper wrapping only to find a blue box under it. Opening it cautiously, she gasped. That… that wasn't possible! Her hand shaking, she reached for the silver bracelet that was ingrained in the wool quilting the box. Holding it out in front of her, she examined it attentively. There was no doubt. It was the exact same one that she had owned two years ago. Troy had bought it for her; it had been a Christmas present. The last one if she recalled correctly.

But… she was sure that it was impossible. She had made sure that she would never see this again. Maybe it was an imitation? No, it wasn't. Turning it around, she saw that it still had the same words engraved. _Love asks me no questions and gives me endless support. _It was an adage by William Shakespeare. It had been her favourite saying to that time and Troy had memorized it, so he could use it for his present. But there was no way in hell he could have gotten the old bracelet back. He couldn't know where she had thrown it away. And even if he knew, he surely wouldn't have done anything about it. So he probably had gone and gotten a new one with the same engraving.

At least that was what she thought until she discovered a little note in the box. Curiously she took it out and looked at it. _It's the same one. _She froze, unbelieving. What? But that meant… that meant he had… How the hell had he gotten it out of the river? She clearly remembered throwing it into the one at the other end of the town. And he hadn't even been near her. The only one accompanying her had been Taylor. Taylor! Of course! She had to have told Chad, who had obviously told Troy. Typical! She really needed to have a talk with Taylor about keeping to oneself what had been confided in them.

But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that Troy had to have jumped into the river to fetch the bracelet back. And that after she had broken his heart! She really had to have meant something to him. Once more Gabriella felt a wave of guilt wash over her body. But now wasn't the time to go into a corner and feel ashamed. She had things to do, things mostly concerning the contest that was going to be held in one day – scary thought, really. Shaking herself to clear her mind, she put the bracelet back into the box and into her bag. It was time to get to school.

*

Screams. Loud, confusing screams. That was all that could be heard as Gabriella drove up to school. In a hell-for-leather manner she jumped out of her car, speeding up to the big cluster of people that had formed in the middle of the school's front yard. They were circling something or someone, she just couldn't see what or who. But to judge from the noises coming from the centre of the circle, Gabriella wouldn't eliminate all doubt that there was a brawl going on.

Now fearful and curious together, she approached the crowd, not really expecting to be able to see anything. There were students crushed together all around, jostling against each other, screaming or giving their own opinion. It was only that it was way too loud that stopped Gabriella from hearing anything detailed. But she didn't need to hear it, for she would be able to see it herself any minute.

People having caught attention that she had arrived silenced at once. Starring and pointing at her, they gave way and lined up so that she could walk through the mass. Feeling more than a little uneasy, she tried to avoid the stares, quickening her pace to get past them. It was creeping her out, all the looks and the whispers, accompanied by the screams of those who hadn't noticed her already. And then she saw it. Or rather, she saw them. Troy and Brandon. Lying at the ground, both of them gave a dreadful sight. Troy had a black eye, apparently having been on the receiving end of one of Brandon's brutal blows. But Brandon had visibly received a setback short after, seeing as his nose didn't look as if it was completely unscathed.

Paralysed by fear, Gabriella stopped dead in her tracks, unable to do anything but gawk at the fighting boys in front of her. At the moment, Troy was still on top, glaring down at Brandon, who struggled against the other boy's strong grip. Getting one hand free after a desperate fight for dominance, Brandon managed to land a punch in Troy's face, hard enough to make him roll of him. Taking advantage of that at once, Brandon jumped up, only to let himself fall on Troy moments later. Getting a grip at his shoulders, Troy tried to push Brandon off him, but obviously it didn't work.

Gazing at the boys and then around the audience, Gabriella asked herself why nobody stepped in. There were at least fifty boys there, all of them looking strong enough to break the fight up. And still, they didn't. They stood there, watching them, either with a shocked or an amused face. Gabriella couldn't believe them. It wasn't funny! What if one of them battered the skull of the other in? Because to her it didn't look like either of them was going to give up and suffer a defeat. But it looked like no one would step in any time soon. It was too bad that neither Chad and the guys nor Taylor and Sharpay seemed to be on hand.

But there had to be something done. Wrenched out of her thought by a loud scream coming from a girl, she focused back on the boys. It was obvious why she had screamed. Brandon now had Troy in a stranglehold, and it didn't seem as if Troy had the strength to get out of it himself. Looking around frantically, Gabriella saw nobody making a step forward. Therefore she did the first thing coming to her mind. She screamed. Loudly and clearly. On the double anyone stopped moving, even Troy and Brandon. All heads turned in her direction. Now even the ones slow on the uptake noticed that Gabriella had arrived.

But it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that Brandon let go of Troy's throat as soon as he clapped eyes on her. Taking a sharp breath in, Troy took his chance to shove him off and get on his feet again. His gaze diffidently searching for Gabriella's, he took a few uncertain steps forward, ignoring Brandon still lying on the ground. "Gabriella." It wasn't a question, just a statement. A statement of his tentativeness and his noticeable lack of ability to explain. But at the moment Gabriella didn't even care about any explanation. First she needed to get rid of her annoyance towards both of the boys.

She didn't care about who had started the fight or to which reasons. All that she cared about was that both of them could have seriously gotten hurt. And a fight in front of the entire population! How irresponsible could you possibly get? It seemed as if the two were trying to amplify the scope of science, because Gabriella had never known that you could become that dumb. "Troy! Brandon!" Her shouting was heard all over the school grounds, Troy was sure of it. He fought the desire to put his hands over his ears, but he knew if he did that then he wouldn't know what came over him. No, trying to let her shouting fall on deaf ears would definitely blow up in his face.

There was nothing left but to stand still and submit her lecture. And it was a right royal dressing down. "What the hell were you thinking? Starting this? Have you lost your mind or something? Or did you just need more problems than you already have? Well, for that you didn't need to take the risk of having cleaved your head open afterwards. If you wanted more problems, then you could have come to me. Especially you, Brandon! Was being turned down by me for the hundredths time not enough? Or you, Troy! Our constant fighting should be enough, don't you think?" She deliberately pushed the fact that there hadn't been much fighting going on for the last days to the back of her mind.

Suddenly she became aware that every student being around was following her outburst. And she didn't like it. In her opinion she had already given them enough to gossip about for the next few years, so there was no reason to let them stick around any longer. "And you!" She let her gaze fly over them accusingly. "You better get lost. Otherwise I'll be thinking about going to our dear principal and ask him about the punishment for failure to render assistance to break up a fight!" She had never seen the yard being cleared as quickly as now.

But however; that wasn't the point right now. She shot a nasty glare to both Troy, who made a face as long as a fiddle, and Brandon, who had at long last managed to struggle himself back to his feet. Ready to continue with her tirade, she opened her mouth, but closed it again, as she saw Becky running towards her. "It wasn't Troy's fault, Gabs. Brandon provoked him. He was angry after he got word that you and Troy…", she broke up, blushing like a peony. It took a requesting look from Gabriella for her to continue. "Well, you know… kissed!" Gabriella saw daylight. That was putting another complexion on things.

That meant… that meant that Brandon had been jealous and had waited for his opportunity to pay Troy back. That was low, in her opinion. She turned to Brandon, who hadn't said anything to Becky's accusation. "Is that true?" The look in his eyes made a response redundant. Becky wasn't lying to get Troy through this. "How could you?", she asked perplexed, not understanding how someone could pick up a fight with someone over a girl. Over her. Unbelievable.

"And why the hell didn't you just walk away?", she turned to Troy again, who was still regarding her wordlessly. But now it seemed like the right time to finally say something. "Maybe because I didn't want to?" He asked back, his tone more than aggressive. Gabriella made a few steps backwards, taken by surprise. What the heck? "I don't care if you didn't want to! You should have nevertheless!" She was furious. Who cared if he hadn't wanted to? That didn't make it right to fight with someone. "Well, I did. Get over it, Gabriella." He was back to her full name. No Brie. No, he didn't even bother to look at her while back-talking.

That was the impression that Gabriella got. Troy, however, had other reasons as to why he was avoiding her gaze. It wasn't that he wasn't respecting her, far from it actually. He just didn't want to look at her, because he knew he would break. And he would tell her why they had been fighting. And he did not want her to know what Brandon had called her. Becky, though, put a spoke in his wheel. Nudging his side, she tried to talk him into telling her. "Why are you taking the blame for him? Just tell her what he said and she'll understand." Just a flicker in the younger girl's eyes gave away that she was afraid how the older boy she hardly knew would react to her bold speaking.

She didn't have to worry. Troy had noticed her hanging around the other three girls constantly and had grown quite fond of her, despite not having much contact to her. Although he would have preferred her to button up her lips right now, because now Gabriella was viewing him attentively. "What are you not telling me, Troy?" He carved. It was not like he had any choice, looking into her brown eyes filled with determination. Detaching his eyes from her, he mumbled something under his breath, hoping she wouldn't hear him. He was lucky, but it didn't really help him.

In spite of Brandon's dirty look, Becky cut in once again. "What he's trying to say – or much more not trying to say because he's afraid of hurting your feelings – is that Brandon called you something absolutely inappropriate to provoke him." Gabriella swallowed dryly. Great, this was getting better and better. "And what did he call me?" Becky regarded her carefully, before deciding that there was no point in trying to protect her feeling. "I'd say it would be something along the lines of you being a 'slut'?" It came out more as a question than a declarative sentence.

Gabriella's jaw fell down. That was harsh. Resorting to Brandon, she knew that it wasn't a lie. And she abruptly didn't care about his nose anymore. "I think it's better if you took a hike, you know? Before I loose myself and take over Troy's previous part." The boy opened his mouth, nearly laughing at her, before he realized that that wouldn't be a good idea. Hastily scurrying off was the much better option. He took it. Nodding satisfied, Gabriella tried to cover up the hurt written across her face, but didn't quite succeed. In a matter of seconds, Becky was by her side, hugging her.

"Don't let him get to you. He's just a jerk.", she tried to cheer her squad captain up. Gabriella tried a smile, but failed miserably. What if Brandon was right? What if she was one? Going and kissing some boy she had claimed to hate for the past years thrice? That wasn't normal, was it? _Hey, you didn't kiss him. Theoretically he kissed you every time. _The tiny voice inside her head was back. _But I wanted him to kiss me!_, Gabriella argued back. Troy sensed her distress. "Becky's right, you know?" His soft voice soothed her interior monologue. Looking up at him, she saw him smiling slightly.

It was the first time this morning that she really took his appearance in. His hair was extremely untidy and it was just now that she noticed the slight bleeding over his brow. And his clothes had several cuts and rifts. But somehow it didn't make him look bad. If anything he looked even better. Which didn't mean that Gabriella wanted him to stay this way. "I guess we should clean you up, hu?" She didn't wait for an answer, but went over and grabbed his sleeve. "Becky? Would you be so kind and tell Mrs. Smith that I was feeling sick and Troy offered to bring me home and stay with me?"

Becky was looking slightly uncomfortable at the thought to have to speak to the unloved teacher voluntarily, but nodded nonetheless. "I guess we won't get to see you two then?" Gabriella inspected Troy's cuts. "I would guess so, yeah." Becky nodded, turning around to school. "And nobody's asking me what I think about this?" Troy looked slightly offended, that they simply walked over him. "You're not complaining, are you?", Gabriella asked, cocking one eyebrow. He thought about it. Getting cleaned up by the school nurse and attending classes after that or getting looked after by Gabriella and skipping school with her? "Nope, I'm coming with you!"

*

After ten minutes, Gabriella drove up the driveway. "Uh, Gabs, what are we doing here?" She had driven them to his house. "What do you think? Getting you clean, of course!" Gabriella shook her head, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Are your parents at home?" Troy shook his head. "They're at work." Nodding, Gabriella lifted the door mat, to reveal a house key. Picking it up, she opened the door and entered, leading Troy inside. Troy was amazed. "You still remember where our house key is when we're not at home?" Gabriella laughed. "The amount of times I used it? You would think so!"

She went straight into the living-room, pushing the following Troy on the couch. "Ouch! Hurt one here!", he complained, only to be laughed at by Gabriella. "Don't tell me you didn't already have more serious injuries. And I bet that you didn't even care a little bit about them!" Troy shrugged with his shoulders. "Could be" She didn't even bother to throw him a look. Instead she went straight to the kitchen to get an ice-pack. She didn't have to search; it was still in the first box of the refrigerator. Taking it, she closed the fridge and fetched a kitchen towel from one of the cupboards.

"You still know where everything is in here, don't you?" Gabriella jumped with shock. She hadn't paid attention to Troy entering the kitchen behind her. "Why didn't you stay in the living-room?", she asked, hand placed over her heart. "It's way more interesting in here!", Troy answered jauntily, approaching her while eying the items in her hand. Gabriella looked at him unbelieving, but shrugged it off. "Whatever, actually it's coming in useful. I can disinfect your cuts in here."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you feel you have to.", he offered, placing himself directly next to her. She reached for the bottle with the antiseptic. "You make it sound like it would be torture.", Gabriella teased him, spraying the agent on the cut over his eyebrow. He nearly jumped. "It stinks!", he pouted, giving her puppy-dog-eyes. A small smile tucked at Gabriella's lips. "And you want me to do what to make it better?" Troy acted as if he would think about it? "How about a little kiss?" Why had she known that he would say something like that?

"You wish!", she taunted, before she got serious. "Why did you fight Brandon, Troy?" Troy sighed inwardly. He had had the feeling that she wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. "I think Becky already told you. He called you… you know, a slut." For a short moment Gabriella closed her eyes. She had never thought Brandon could sink that low. But apparently nothing was impossible anymore. Especially if one took into consideration that she was standing here, trying to get her ex-boyfriend cleaned up. Only five days beforehand she would have sent anybody who told her that to see a doctor.

"I know that, Troy. I want to know why you felt the need to defend me. Why not just carry on as if nothing happened? You have no obligations towards me, you know? You really couldn't have cared less." She turned around, for one thing to put the antiseptic back, for the other because she didn't feel like facing him right now. Only moments later she discovered that, maybe, it hadn't been such a good idea. Now caught between the cupboard and the countertops she couldn't flee as Troy moved directly behind her, constricting her in her freedom of movement.

Her back faced his chest, as her hands searched for support on the countertops. Clinging onto it, she felt his hot breath brushing her neck. Whispering in her ear, he told her: "But I cared. And I still care. And I couldn't let him get away with it." Desperately trying to ignore the closeness she had to him, Gabriella tried to focus on the conversation and not on the well-trained abs she could feel under his shirt. "And you start a fist-fight with him?" Her voice was unbelieving and Troy sighed, his breath once again hitting her neck and making her shiver ever so slightly against him. Attempt to ignore what she did to him being so close, he concentrated himself to achieve a nod. He was unable to do anything else.

He moved lightly against her and Gabriella swallowed. This was bad. Really bad. What was he having in mind, approaching her like this? She couldn't. She could not give in once again. It was just wrong. So she was aiming to give attention to the subject of their talk. "We're not in kindergarten anymore, Troy! You can't just try and solve any problems by beginning to strike a blow upon the other one! I thought you knew at least that much!" She wasn't complaining. Not really. She was only trying to sidetrack him, so he wouldn't notice what he was doing to her. It was too bad that it wasn't working.

"You're not angry, Brie." Damn, why did he have to know her this well? Of course he knew she wasn't angry; if she was she would act totally different than she was now. But that he knew her didn't mean she would let this happen. "Right, I'm not. I think it's sweet." Somehow she managed to keep her light tone. Troy noticed and he knew that she was fighting this to happen, but he just seemed to not be able to contain himself. The only thing helping would be to be distracted by something else. Forcing himself to make a few steps backwards and letting her regain her ability to move, he asked her: "Did you see the present on your doorstep this morning?"

Gabriella smiled slightly, still trying to get used to the cold that had replaced Troy's warm body against hers. "How did you get it back? That river was pretty deep." She looked at him, trying to read his face. He was smiling and nothing indicated that he was feeling uncomfortable talking about that topic. "I'm a pretty good swimmer.", was his simple answer, his gaze meeting hers and holding it intently. Damn it, why couldn't he just tell her what he wanted from her. This was making it so much more complicated. But that was probably what she deserved, after all what she had done to him.

"I'm really sorry.", she told him, diverting her attention from him to the floor. She had never noticed that the Bolton had parquet in the kitchen. "I know" This plain sentence was all she needed. Suddenly it all streamed out of her; suddenly she felt the need to tell him everything. She told him how she had seen him, him and Tiara together, how she had felt, how she had suffered for weeks after that. She told him how she tried to get over him and eventually taken to hate, how she had hated to hate and constantly argue with him. And finally about how she had overheard Amber and Sarah talking about it. By the time she was finished there were tears streaming down her face; she was sobbing.

Within seconds Troy had vanquished the few metres between them and took her into his arms, soothing and calming her down. "Shush, Brie, it's all right, everything's alright." He stroked her back, her face pressed into his chest. "Nothing's alright!", she protested, eventually looking up at him, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying. He hated that she was right. Theoretically nothing was right. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't be able to get it right again. "Gabs, all that matters right now is that you know I didn't cheat. And that you know that I'm not mad at you." Gabriella gazed at him. "You're not?" The hopeful look in her eyes made him laugh.

"I'm not!", he assured her. "Does that mean that we could… that we could start over? As friends, I mean!", she added, crestfallen as she saw his motionless face. Little did she know that he wanted much more than just being friends. Inwardly Troy had hoped that they could start over as a couple, but if she didn't want more… He could do nothing about it. And he would rather have her in his life as a friend than not have her in his life at all. So he nodded. "As friends." He didn't notice Gabriella's disappointed face that was vanishing after a few seconds.

With faked happiness she poked his chest. "Well then, why don't you go up to your room and I'll come after you after I've found everything I need to deal with those cuts of yours?" He nodded, vanishing out of the kitchen only a minute later. Gabriella took a moment for herself, before she followed Troy up there. So they were friends. Well, she could deal with that. At least she hoped she could. Kicking his door open, because both of her hands were occupied with holding things, she saw him lying sideways on his bed, shoes carelessly thrown on the ground, shirt discarded somewhere on the floor.

Damn it, Gabriella! Stop starring at his chest, you're friends, you remember that? Well, she did. But that didn't mean she was able to ignore his well-toned chest that was exposed in front of her eyes. And especially not when he was unintentionally flexing his muscles as he was now, turning around so he was lying on his back. She had to close her eyes for a moment. _No, you're not loosing your mind right now and throw everything you just told him overboard!_, she urged herself. Obliging herself to move her eyes from his chest, she looked up to his face, seeing him smirking slightly at her, having noticed her gaze at his chest. She blushed. Making an effort, she walked straight up to him, putting the brought things on his bedside table. Taking the ice pack, she leaned over Troy, carefully holding it to one side of his face. He winced visibly, not prepared for the sudden feeling of coldness.

Now it was her who was smirking slightly. In a very sexy way, Troy had to admit that. His face had to reflect his feelings, because Gabriella couldn't restrain herself. In an abrupt access of emotion, she raised her other hand and brought it down to his face, touching it softly. Now there was nothing left what would hold Troy back. Unable to control himself any longer, he sat up out of the blue and didn't care about her faint protest because of her loosing the ice pack. Her complaining didn't last long, seeing as she squealed surprised as he pulled her into his lap. Loosing the balance, she gave in and found herself directly starring into Troy's eyes. The intense stare in them made her stomach flutter in anticipation.

Hands sneaking around his neck, she pulled herself automatically closer to him, feeling his abs from under her shirt. Closing her eyes, they split the difference. His kiss was gentle, just as the one they had shared in the gym. But somehow this time it was more to it. Maybe because they weren't in a gym full of people, but at his house, without anyone watching them. Letting his lips linger on hers, Troy felt her respond softly, as if she was trying to memorize the feeling of his lips against hers. Loosing himself into the kiss, he increased the tempo, making the kiss more passionate.

But it didn't take him long to realise what he was doing. Abruptly breaking the kiss, he turned away his head sharply, not daring to look at the stunned girl in front of him. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Gabriella, I shouldn't have done that, I know it's already complicated enough for…" He stopped himself from rambling, not knowing what he could say anyways. Letting his head hang down in shame, his nerves were nearly killing him, as he was waiting for Gabriella to react. She was still sitting in his lap motionless and she hadn't said anything yet. And to be honest Troy was more than just scared that she would jump up and leave the house after this. But he didn't have to worry.

Suddenly there was a small hand on his shoulder, pressing down at it softly. Baffled, he looked up, not counting on her face being this near to him. "Don't be", was all that Gabriella managed to get out, before she pressed her lips on his. Troy was shocked, astonished to say the least, but definitely not in a bad way. It only took him a split of seconds to apprehend what was happening, but then he lost all his thoughts in the passion of the kiss. It was both sweet and giving and passionate and demanding at the same time. And it made both of them feel like they had never felt before.

Gabriella felt Troy's tongue running over her bottom lip, begging for entry once again. She granted it to him without even bothering to think about it, throwing all thoughts about being friends away. Not being able to hold back a small gasp, as his tongue massaged hers, she felt his strong hands encircling her waist, pulling her even closer than she already was. Without wasting a second thought, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself into his body. She desperately wanted this kiss to last, to go on forever, so she would never have to worry about anything.

She knew that she loved Troy, either _still_ loved him or had gotten to love him in these past days again, she didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was here and they were kissing. But soon the known need for oxygen became noticeable, leaving no other choice than to break the kiss. Gabriella opened her eyes and starred into Troy's. The contact lasted only a second before he already crashed his lips back on hers. Taken by surprise, she let herself fall into him, bringing them both down on the bed. Neither of them cared very much, their feelings overwhelming them.

Her hands ran over his chest, letting him no other choice than to let out a low growl. Giggling a little bit, she smirked down at him, removing her lips for a short moment from his. Groaning at the loss of contact, Troy swiftly rolled them over, so that he was on top with Gabriella squirming under him. Being greeted with the sight of a topless Troy over her, she didn't even think about complaining, just pulling him down to her and attaching his lips to hers one more time.

**Soooo, aren't I evil to cut it off here? *wink***** So, what did you think of this one? Who liked what Troy did to show her that he's always cared about her, no matter what? And who didn't? Please leave a review to tell me, because it's always so much fun to hear from people who actually like this story and it means really much to me, when they take the time to tell me their opinion. And you'll get an answer from me (though not, when you're not logged in, that makes it a bit too hard :]), although that can take a while. Which is why I'm going to reply to all of your reviews from the last chapter after I put this up. **

**Anyways, who wants the next chapter (which contains the contest, by the way) as soon as possible? You know the drill… the more reviews I get, the less time it takes for me to log onto FFN again :]**

**Until next time, **

**xoxo **

**Lena**


	14. The contest

**Okay, guys, so this is it: The second to last chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds'! Who's excited for the contest? *grin* ****Thank you all so much for the reviews I got for the last chapter; the response was incredible. I was so happy when I got e-mail after e-mail, telling me that I had got new reviews to the thirteenth chapter. Lots of you liked the fact that Troy and Gabriella had a little something going on at the end of the chapter**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_She knew that she loved Troy, either still loved him or had gotten to love him in these past days again, she didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was here and they were kissing. But soon the known need for oxygen became noticeable, leaving no other choice than to break the kiss. Gabriella opened her eyes and starred into Troy's. The contact lasted only a second before he already crashed his lips back on hers. Taken by surprise, she let herself fall into him, bringing them both down on the bed. Neither of them cared very much, their feelings overwhelming them._

_Her hands ran over his chest, letting him no other choice than to let out a low growl. Giggling a little bit, she smirked down at him, removing her lips for a short moment from his. Groaning at the loss of contact, Troy swiftly rolled them over, so that he was on top with Gabriella squirming under him. Being greeted with the sight of a topless Troy over her, she didn't even think about complaining, just pulling him down to her and attaching his lips to hers one more time. _

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Chapter fourteen – The contest

Gabriella awoke with a start. Somehow she felt different than usual. Not opening her eyes in the determined persuasion that she'd be able to go back to sleep if she just convinced herself that it wasn't time to get up, she turned around slightly, cuddling up to the warm body that was lying beside her. Inhaling the familiar scent that surrounded the boy, she snuggled deeper into his side, loving the feeling of his arm entangled firmly around her. Hang on a minute. What the hell?

With one swift motion Gabriella had opened her eyes and entangled herself carefully from the grip she had liked that much. Starring down at a sleeping Troy with an open mouth, Gabriella could barely restrain herself from letting out a gasp. What the hell had she done? What had they done? Hadn't they just agreed to become friends again? And now they were lying on his bed, having done things that were definitely crossing the line between friends and … well, lovers! This had to be a bad dream.

Or a good one, depending on how you saw things. Thinking back to only a few hours ago and the events taking place after she had come up to his room, Gabriella wasn't so sure if it was that bad. His kisses for sure had been heavenly and the things he could do by only using his hands… divinely. There were no other words to describe it. And to think that she had missed out on that for so long… it nearly drove her crazy. What had she been thinking? _Yeah, that's the right question. Although I wouldn't ask that because you hold out on him for that long, but because of what you did!_ The little voice inside her head proved once more that it was very good in ruining the mood.

And the biggest problem was that it was right. This was wrong on so many levels. But how could something that wrong feel so right? Anew she let her thoughts wander back to the earlier hours of the day. It had been at the time they had first kissed. Turning around ever so cautiously, Gabriella threw a quick look at the clock. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Had they seriously spent the entire time kissing? And doing a few other things? Gabriella smiled softly as she remembered what they _had_ done. Once lying on his bed, him over her, nobody of them had even thought about stopping what they were about to do. For that it had felt way too familiar… and way too good.

The way his hands had run down her sides, evoking shivers running down her spine, had had her moaning his name softly, only to find his mouth attached to hers seconds later, shutting her up. Oh yeah, that was the only thing outranging his skills with his hands… his kissing-skills. The way his tongue had massaged hers, taking over control of both their actions, had made her feel more wanted than she had felt ever before. Having pushed her body into his with a strength that implied how much she wanted him to carry on with what he was doing, he had forgotten all his earlier worries and moved from her mouth to her neck and shoulder, sucking at her soft spots, leaving his mark behind.

Which reminded her… She seemed to faintly remember that somewhere along the line she had lost some of her clothing. And she was right. Lifting the covers enough to be able to take a look at herself, she saw that her top was missing completely, her skirt she had been wearing to school appearing slightly disarranged. Things had definitely become heated. And gone out of control. What would they do now? Confused yet again Gabriella decided that she was in no condition to discuss this with Troy over again right now. And that meant that she should vanish into thin air for now. Best while he was still sleeping.

Looking over to him, she smiled again, him looking so adorable. The sandy-brown hair jumbled, one hand hid under his pillow, the other one now lying lifeless against his side after Gabriella had entwined herself from it; he looked cuter than she had ever seen him, which could be because she had never experienced something like the previous hours with him before. Not able to resist, she pressed a filmy kiss on his cheek, before attempting to get out of bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to risk waking him up.

Searching the room for her shirt, she gently adjusted her skirt, finally spotting the red top thrown carelessly over a chair at the other end of the room. How the hell had it gotten there? Not wanting to rack her brain over it, she left the thought swishing away. Tip-toeing through the room, she let her gaze once again gliding over to him, her hand already on the door handle. Seeing him in his bed, just about to turn around so he was lying on his side again, she couldn't help but grin at his exposed chest. Thinking that her fingernails had scratched over his abs only a brief amount of time ago made her feel giddy and happy at the same time.

But now wasn't the time to stay put and admire his flawless body, seeing as he seemed to be ready to wake up any moment. Quickly opening the door and closing it behind her as inaudibly as possible, she turned around and descended the stair, hoping that Troy's parents weren't home already. She was lucky. It seemed as though both of them were out and not coming back any minute, which was living up to her wishes. How embarrassing would it be to be caught sneaking out of Troy's room by the two people she hadn't seen for two years because of her falling out with their son?

*

Birds were singing. They were singing like there was no tomorrow. Disturbed in his sleep, Troy opened his eyes, only to close them again, the sunlight hitting his face with full force. Blinking a few times before fully comprehending that he was awake, Troy groaned softly, slamming his fist into the sheets next to him; too tired to remember what had happened beforehand. Only when he felt the warmth, he sat up in bed at one stroke, asking himself what was going on. Then he remembered. Gabriella. She had been here. She had looked after him after he had gotten into that stupid fight with Brandon. And they had kissed. More likely made out and well, maybe gotten carried away, but who cared?

Still, that didn't answer the question what was going on. Where was she? Throwing a look at his watch, he could tell that it was ten minutes after four. She had to have left. And that not too long ago, the side of bed where she had been lying was still warm. What lead to the question as to why she had left. Was she embarrassed because of what they had done? Or angry? _Oh God, please don't let her be angry!_, he pleaded, not standing the thought of going through another fight with her yet again. In his opinion he had had way too much drama in his life during the last days. And he really didn't need a repeat of that.

Paying attention to his missing shirt only now, he smirked slightly, remembering every little detail about their hot make-out session. God, how he had missed those, though he couldn't remember a single one that had been quite as steamy as this one. Well, that could be due to the fact that they had been sophomores the last time they had had one of those as they had still been in a relationship. That consideration reminded him of what he didn't have right now. A relationship. That threw a totally different light on the previous hours. He knew that Gabriella wasn't a girl to do something like that when not in a serious relationship with the involved boy. Did that mean, however, that she wanted one? A relationship? With him?

*

Gabriella was asking herself the exact same question. Why had she done that? Why hadn't she run away after he had firstly kissed her? Why had she kissed him back instead and theoretically even started to make out with him? That was so not like her. But then again, it definitely had been worth it. Calling the memories back to her mind, she relived the butterflies swarming in her stomach since the moment he had first touched her lips with his and the other feelings floating over her while feeling his touches. He was the only one who could make her feel this way, like her body had been set on fire at every place his hands came in contact with. And the rest of her body blazing with desire to be touched by him.

She swallowed. That sounded a hell of lot as if her body had already decided on whether she wanted more from him. And it wasn't exactly as though her mind was complaining very much. _Just tell him! _And for once Gabriella agreed. There was nothing else left to be done. She would tell him. Tomorrow. Either before dancing practice or during it, it didn't matter. The main issue was that he would know. And hopefully act on this knowledge.

*

As she was leaving the house the next morning, she was as happy as she hadn't been for a very long time. Coming to her decision had taken a lot off her mind and there was nothing that she had to worry about. Well, that was if she would be able to take her mind of the contest that would take place this afternoon. And until now they were lacking a dress rehearsal. But they still had a free period and lunch time beforehand. That should be time enough to practice the steps and perfecting them.

During the drive up to school she was humming along to the songs being played on the radio. Halfway to school, she saw a car coming up behind her. It was Troy. She smiled unintentionally and saw him grinning in her direction. Blowing her a kiss, he overtook her with ease, smirking at her old car getting on very slowly. She only rewarded him with a wry look as he lined in the traffic directly in front oh her. Seeing him simpering, she groaned playfully, already knowing what was to come. They had done this every morning while they had been going out. She would drive to school; he would overtake her, line up in front of her and continuously speed up and take the speed down again. Annoying, really!

But he didn't have very long to do so, for they arrived at school way too early for both of their likings. Giving her one last infatuating smile, he began to search for a parking spot, leaving her the one directly visibly. Beaming, Gabriella took it, jumping out of the car with the greatest of ease. Preferring to wait for Troy and best work it out here and now with him – out of ear- and eyeshot of the rest of the student body -, she sauntered slowly up to school, waiting for him to catch up with her. That, however, did not happen. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she viewed Chad running up to Troy, holding him back and gesturing wildly.

Sighing in annoyance, Gabriella made her way to the doors, feeling someone grab her shoulder before she could enter the building. Turning around she was greeted with the sight of Chris, a half-serious look in his eyes. "We need to talk, Gabriella!" She laughed at his attempt to hold up the serious façade while failing miserably. "About what, _Christopher_?" She emphasized his full name, hinting that it was unusual for her to hear her full name coming from him. "About you skipping school way too much to hang out with Troy!" What? She gazed unbelievingly at him. "I do not skip school to spend time with Troy!" Well, not always at least.

"And why weren't you at school yesterday?" Why hadn't she thought about the fact that her friends would be asking questions? Well, actually she had. She had just thought that she would have talked to Troy by the time she faced them. So she could just shrug her shoulders. "Do you want the short or the long version?" Chris made a face. "If the long version contains details about what exactly you did with Troy, I'd love to hear the short one. Save the long for Sharpay and Taylor." Gabriella giggled. "How do you know I did anything with Troy?" Chris looked at her, trying to pull a disgusted face. "The fact that you're not denying it says everything I need to know."

The brunette chuckled. "What do I say? You're right." Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "Damn, I just lost thirty dollars. Couldn't you have at least waited another week until you kissed him senselessly?" Gabriella gazed up at him in shock. "I did so not kiss him senselessly!" The incredulous look thrown at her made her give in. "Alright, so maybe I did. But how the hell do you loose thirty dollars because I make out with Troy?" The guilty look Chris had written all over his face told her what she wanted to know. "Oh no, you so not did bet on when Troy and I would do something like that!"

Chris bit his lip. Gabriella screamed in faked shock. "Oh, you're so in for it, Bell!" Laughing she chased him into the building, not noticing the look filled with slight jealousy that ensued her. Troy sighed. There she was, laughing at something Chris had done and chasing him around. Right now he wanted nothing more than to be in Bell's place. But instead he had to stand here, listening to Chad's pointless blabbing about how he couldn't just skip school – with Gabriella nonetheless – without informing him first. Sometimes life was really unfair.

*

Fifteen minutes later Gabriella was leaning against her locker, Taylor and Sharpay crowding her, wanting to know every little detail about her afternoon. "So, what's been going on between you two?" It was the first thing Gabriella got to hear. "What, I don't even get a 'hello'?", she whined, laughing inwardly at the eager faces her best friends pulled. "Who cares about greeting formals when there's something so much more interesting to discuss?", Taylor dismissed the complaint. "Just tell us already what happened between you two!"

"You know, a shut mouth catches no flies.", Gabriella grinned smugly, happy to get on her best friends' last nerves. Her friends groaned simultaneously. "Don't give us that crap!", Shar demanded, hands stemmed into her hips. It looked like this wasn't going to get easy to get out. "Okay, okay!" Gabriella threw her hands helplessly up in the air. "We made out and maybe, maybe we did something more, alright? And yeah, I liked it and no, I'm not giving you any details!" With that she broke free and headed straight to home room. The girls left behind squealed, exited. Whatever they had hoped to hear, this was definitely excelling their expectations. "She doesn't think she's going to get away with that plain information, does she?" Sharpay asked and Taylor shook her head. "No way!"

Heading after her, they increased their speed with every step they took, ready for a downright interrogation. But as soon as they turned the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks. Obviously someone had beaten them to speaking with Gabriella. And it wasn't the worst. It was Troy. "Perfect!", Sharpay gushed, pulling Taylor back behind the corner. "Let's give them some privacy!" She winked at Taylor, who was quick to catch what Shar was implying. Pressing their bodies to the wall as tight as they could, they stayed where they were, listening to every bit of the pair's conversation.

*

"Hey, Brie!" Gabriella nearly got a heart attack, not expecting to hear his voice. Freezing, she stayed put on the spot, awaiting him to reach her. "Hey, Troy!" Her voice shook. It was easy to make out how timid she was. Troy smiled at her as she blushed, not knowing what to say. "Can we talk for a short moment?" He wanted to talk? _Please don't let him say that the thing yesterday didn't mean anything_, she prayed silently, before directing her whole attention to him. "Oh, sure." Her stomach jolted as he took one of her hands into his. "Brie… yesterday…" She was holding her breath, anxious what he would say. "Did it mean anything to you?" Oh damn, a question. She decided that she hated them.

"Do you want it to mean anything?" Answering him through another question seemed like the safest way to not mess this up. He smiled a little uneasy, scratching his neck. Doing so, his shirt came up a little bit, exposing his abs once again. Not able to divert her eyes from his muscles, her head sunk down a little bit. Seeing that, Troy grinned slightly, cupping her chin and directing her face to his eyes again. "As much as I like you starring at my body, I would prefer it if you looked me in the eyes when I answer that question."

Going red, she bit her lower lip, driving Troy crazy once again. Didn't she know what it did to him seeing her biting her lip? Apparently not. "And? Are you answering it?" Gabriella didn't like to beat about the bush, but she didn't want to embarrass herself if he didn't want to get back together. "Well, I thought that answer was pretty obvious.", he laughed quietly, seeing her blush again. "God, of course! I want it to mean anything so desperately it nearly hurts, Brie! I've wanted this ever since I made that mistake by not throwing Tiara out of my house!" Not even the mentioning of Tiara's name could tarnish Gabriella's happy mood right now. Troy wanted her. And that was all that counted.

In the blink of an eye she was standing so close to him that nothing could fit between them. "Thank God!", she breathed before reaching up and pulling his face down to hers, closing the gap between their lips. Not even the slightest bit astonished, Troy didn't hesitate a second responding to her lips against his, smiling into the kiss. Releasing her again after the need for oxygen became too urgent to be ignored, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Does that mean that you want me just as much as I want you?" Gabriella slapped his chest warily, laughing. "Yes, it does!"

"Then I'm very glad!" He pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss on her forehead, happy that he was finally able to do that without having to fear to get his butt kicked. She snuggled into him, inhaling his scent once again. If it was for her they could stay here until forever came. Unluckily life had other plans. Such as making time go on and forcing them to finally attend lessons again. Just as Troy was about to kiss her again, the bell rang, signalling for home room to begin. Groaning annoyed while Gabriella started giggling, he took on of her hands and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Taking that as the signal that they would get going, Gabriella on her part looped her arm around his waist, relishing the feeling of being in his arms again after a long period of fighting with him. Being buried to deep in her thoughts, she didn't even notice two girls sneaking from behind the corner, hands over their mouths to detain their content sighs from escaping. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. "Troy?" He looked down at her. "Yeah?" He didn't like the look of incertitude on her face. "What about that contest this afternoon?"

Troy silently cursed himself. How could he have completely forgotten about that? He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We're still doing it, right?" Gabriella thought about it. Technically there was no point anymore, seeing as Amber had been dumped by Troy and the two of them had solved their issues. But she didn't really want to step out of the contest. The least she could do after all what Amber had done these past days and years was kicking her butt. And with the choreography they had practiced there was no doubt that they actually could do that.

"Yeah!", she agreed. "I want to give Amber the low-down if you get what I mean." Troy smiled at the certainty Gabriella was implying that they would win. "Then I guess we'll do exactly that, won't we?" Gabriella nodded, just as they entered their class room. It grew completely silent. Whatever had been done and whoever had spoken… it all decreased to zero as soon as the first noticed Gabriella and Troy being practically wrapped around each other. Gabriella looked around. "What's going on here?"

She didn't get an answer, but a push in the back. Glaring behind her, she spotted Taylor and Sharpay rushing into the room, instantly stopping as they witnessed the silence. For a moment nobody moved. Then some huffing coming from the back of the room could be heard. The four standing in the door way turned their heads. It was Jason who pointed accusingly at them. "You're not asking what's going on here, are you? Because that should be the question we should be asking. What's going on with the two of you? The day before yesterday you hate each other, yesterday you,", he pointed to Troy, "get into a fight because of her,", he pointed at Gabriella, "and today you're all over each other? The world's slowly coming to its end!"

His ranting was receipt with a wave of laughter. But it slowly decreased as Troy opened his mouth, squeezing Gabriella's side self-confidently. "It's not, Jason, I can assure you. And as to your nice pointing out: Everyone can change their minds, can't they?" There were many who pulled a disappointed face, having hoped for some juicy gossip to come out. However, neither Troy nor Gabriella nor anyone else intended on giving something away. And before someone could complain, Mrs. Smith came in, instantly breaking up the crowd that had been built.

*

It was time. The bleachers of the baseball field were filled with an enormous amount of students, teachers, parents and other people, talking, laughing and discussing the first half of the baseball match that had already taken place. The final whistle had been blown only thirty seconds ago and Gabriella was nervous as hell. This was it. The moment they had been working for the last two weeks. And the moment she had dreaded ever since agreeing to this stupid contest. And the fact that Troy was standing by her side, trying to calm her down, didn't help the least bit.

Having been jumpy since the last period had ended, Gabriella hadn't been addressable ever since and slowly but surely it got on Troy's nerves. "Come on, Brie, we've already talked about this!" Well, actually they hadn't. He had talked and she had listened – at least he hoped so. But seeing that she wasn't anywhere near getting her nerves down again, he saw no other choice than to repeat his preceding speech. "We've trained so hard, Gabs. We know _every single step!_ This isn't going to be a disappointment, trust me!" Gabriella swallowed. She was listening to him, she was really. And she wanted to trust him, but somehow her stomach had something against it.

And she wasn't the only one there, although everyone else was at least putting an effort in trying to appear composed. Becky threw the helpless Troy a warning look. "If you don't get her back to earth, this is going to be a problem. If she's that nervous up there, then I don't know how you'll be able to do those lifts with her!" Troy glared at her, having hoped for a little bit of backing-up instead of a lecture. Turning his attention back to Gabriella, he saw that she was nearly hyper-ventilating. "Oh my god, what if I mess up? What if I stumble over my own feet and fall flat on my face? What if…" The doubts seemed to be a never ending story.

And Troy had enough of it. Head-shaking he moved forwards, pushing Gabriella into the fence. Ignoring her faint protest, he leaned down, capturing her lips in an earth-shattering kiss. Melting into his body without hesitation, Gabriella kissed him back, all thoughts about the contest having vanished the instant she felt his body pushing hers. But right before things could get heated, someone interrupted them from behind. "Get a room, you two!" Disgruntled about the interruption, Troy detached his lips from Gabriella, causing her to giggle as soon as she could she his facial expression. "What, Chad?" Troy asked irritated, glaring in his direction.

Chad didn't look very good. His nose was nearly white, whereas his cheeks were flushed in a deep shade of red. It looked as if he was about to puke any moment. "Are you nervous?", Troy asked his best mate unbelieving. Chad shook his head fiercely. "What are you thinking, pal? Me and nervous? Never!" Suddenly Taylor appeared from behind him. "Don't believe a single word he says. He's nervous as hell; he just doesn't want to admit it." Chad threw her an ungracious look. "You didn't need to tell them that!" Exhilarated by the couple's bickering, Gabriella allowed herself to smile brightly, before remembering that she would have to go upon the stage very soon. A panicking look crossed her face.

Troy noticed. "You're keeping your shirt on, aren't you?", he asked her concerned. It would be really bad if she decided to freak out now. She didn't have the time to answer. "Montez!" The voice was hard and cold, but not unknown. Rolling her eyes, Gabriella turned around, the other ones already starring in the right direction. "What do you want, Amber?", she asked, faking certainty. "Shouldn't you be up on that improvised stage this specific moment to inform them about our little contest? Or at least the ones who haven't already gotten the news." Amber made a face at her. "Don't get too full of yourself, Montez. You might have Troy – for now, may I add -, but that doesn't mean you've already won!" Smiling sweetly, she turned to Troy. "And don't forget the little date we've got planned after I kick her butt!"

Troy huffed. "Leave us alone, Terrell." Appealing to Gabriella, he practically begged her: "Please, please, please, do your best up there and save me from that event. Please?" Gabriella laughed at his desperate expression. "I'll be doing my very best!" Satisfied, he wrapped his arms around her waist, letting Amber know that they wouldn't pay any attention to her. Riled up, Amber rushed away and upon stage, grabbing the microphone. "Dear teachers and students of East High, dear parents and visitors, I would like to announce you…" Her voice was drowned out of Gabriella's mind as she looked around the small area the dancing squad was occupying.

There was a woman standing only five feet away. And it wasn't just only a woman. It was her mother. "Mum!", Gabriella shouted, exited to see that she had made it to the contest. She had swiftly informed her about it. Well, she had told her mother's mailbox about it. Dashing through the teenagers standing in her way, she made her way over within seconds and flung her arms around her laughing mother. "Mary!" Gabriella squeezed her. "Oh God, don't squash me!" She released her mother. "Sorry!", she mumbled sheepishly, before beaming up at her. "You're here! I can't believe it!"

Her mother smiled. "Yeah, me too. But I couldn't let you go through this alone, could I?" Gabriella grinned inwardly. If her mother knew what she _had_ gone through alone… "As we're speaking from going through," she glanced backwards at Troy who had come forward rather uncertainly, "I want you to meet someone." She beckoned for him to stand next to her, engulfing him in a hug. "I believe you remember him?" Her mother starred at the two in pure astonishment. "That's what I call a great surprise!" Troy smiled shyly at her. "Hey, Mrs. Montez!"

The older woman smiled at him, still confused. "So, what's the deal with you two? Are you… just friends or… you know?" Gabriella stood on tiptoes and kissed Troy on the cheek. "Well, I'd definitely say we're more than friends." Troy nodded in agreement. Mrs. Montez laughed. "I'm never going on a business trip for so long ever again. It seems as if I'm missing out on the best events in my daughter's life." Both teenagers smirked at her. Not only on the best events… For a short moment Gabriella was glad her mother had been away. She didn't want to know how much she'd have freaked if she had found out about skipping school and spending an entire day at Troy's house, alone and without parents into the bargain.

Out of the blue music started to play. Confused they turned their heads to the stage, only to see the cheerleader squad getting ready for their demonstration. Gabriella swallowed. "Heaven, did we miss her whole speech? I'd have thought she made it longer than that." Troy chuckled. "She wouldn't want to. This time it's time working against her and for us. If I was still sneaking around her and not you, her speech would be longer than the President's election speech." Gabriella swatted his chest. "Don't be mean!" She acted as if she would think for a few minutes. "You're right, though!" Troy grinned arrogantly. "I know!"

*

Five minutes later the music ended. And to Gabriella's direness they had been good. Really good. And Amber seemed to know that. Smirking snootily in her direction, she once again walked up to the microphone. Her voice could hardly be heard over the applause that had erupted. Alright, this was going to be tough. "Alright, looks like it's time to grin and bear it." Gabriella sighed and was just about to lead her squad onto the stage as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck!" It was Chris who had sneaked out of the cabins to see Gabriella. "Thanks!" She flashed Chris a genuine smile, closing her eyes and collecting herself one last time.

She felt Troy grabbing her hand and gave him a half-looped smile. "Ready?", he asked her, now his own nervousness kicking in. She nodded. They were going to make it. They were going to beat Amber. "Come on, we've got some serious butt-kicking to do!" Troy shook her head at her sudden whiff of bravery. Why couldn't his nerves work this way? He didn't know and he didn't have time to think about it. Putting on a smile, Gabriella walked confidently upon the stage, the squad following behind. They were greeted with a round of applause.

Wait. Gabriella furrowed her brow. Had they decided on who started the music? She certainly couldn't, having to stand in her start position at the very beginning. She looked over to the stereo equipment. With relief she spotted Chris, winking at her. He really thought of everything. Pondering if she should say something just like Amber had done, she decided against it. Later was going to be time enough to speak. Concentrating on the dance was what came first now. With a quiet sigh, she went into position, letting Troy pull her into his arms. "I wish you good luck, Brie!", he whispered and received a plain nod. "You, too! But I really hope we won't need any." With a sign she signalled Chris to let the music play.

The prime beats sounded through the air and Gabriella became calmer with every stroke that was emitting from the stereo. To the time they begun moving her nerves had entirely relaxed. Everything else besides Troy and the music was blanked out of her head. She let their movements float through her mind, step after step. The circling steps, her body moving together with Troy's. Somehow it was different than the last times they had done this. In some way it felt more … right to do this. Looking up and meeting Troy's gaze, she couldn't help but smile amorously. The boy had to hold himself back from leaning down and kissing her right on stage.

Instead of giving into his needs, he let her broke free and did his best to not mess up the following moves. That was already hard enough without Gabriella and his needs on his mind and it wasn't going to get easier. Letting out a low hiss as he felt her body grinding against his while dipping low, he happily swirled her around into the pirouette only seconds after, sinking down in the progress and cheering silently that he had a few moments to get his thoughts back on track. He just hoped that he would ever live it down that he had sunk to the ground in front of the entire school. Well, at least every other boy on stage had to do the same. After the first lift was over, the entire gym was heating up. Applause was breaking out before they had even gone halfway through the dance. Gabriella smiled proudly. This was exactly what she had dreamed of. That was when she hadn't pictured her worst nightmare coming true.

But right now everything was going according to plan. And it wasn't going to change. She knew it the second she looked into Troy's eyes. They would nail the second lift perfectly. There was no doubt. Backsliding first and then running up to him, she could already feel the touch of his fingers lingering on her body. With a hitch she felt herself being lifted up in the air with the feeling of being safe that she had never had before in their dancing sessions.

But as soon as she got the feeling, it was over and they were standing in the end position. Breathing softly against her neck, Troy had closed his eyes, pacified that all had gone right. "You were great!", Gabriella whispered into his ear, wrapping her arms even tighter around him. "Not as good as you!", he gave the compliment back. Smiling, she buried her face in the crock of his neck, nuzzling it with her nose. He held her to him until the applause that had broken out was dying down. Then they were crowded by everyone from the dancing team. Being hugged by every girl on the squad, Gabriella was being pulled away from Troy, throwing him an apologetic look. He just shrugged, before nearly sinking down because of the slap Chad placed on his back.

"We made it!" Sharpay was screeching into her ear and the answering squeals from the other girls weren't any less loud. Cheering and laughing, Gabriella slowly made her way up to the microphone. All eyes were directed at her, but for once Gabriella didn't mind being in the centre of the attention. They had done it. Now everything that counted was winning the votes from the audience. As she grabbed the micro, she felt someone stepping behind her and engulfing her into a hug. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Troy. Since he was kissing her neck, she was having a very hard time concentrating on the speech she was going to give.

"Good evening!", her voice resounded through the outdoor sound system. It went completely silent. Letting her gaze glide over the amount of people, she knew she would have gotten nervous if Troy hadn't been standing behind her. "I'm glad that you are all here today to witness the baseball game in the first place. But I'm even gladder that you are here to witness the show our cheerleading and our dancing squad have showcased. Many of you may already know that there's one reason for this contest. It's the deep rivalry between the two squads that has been there ever since the dancing squad was founded. As much as I dislike it, I think that it's never going to change. But that's not the main point this evening."

At this the audience pricked up their ears. "The main point today isn't the fight. The main point is that we wanted to know who was actually better. There have been boxes set up at the different entrances while you were watching. Paper and pens are lying out. We would like you to use the remaining ten minutes of the break to vote for either the cheerleading or the dancing squad." Once again there was applause coming from the stands as the people set out to vote. With a pleased smile Gabriella turned around, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck. "I thought it was the best to not tell them about the prize for winning.", she explained as she met his inquiring gaze as to why she had foreground the question who was the better team.

"I'm not complaining!" Troy laughed. "I don't even want to imagine the teasing of my parents if they knew that you two started this contest because of me!" His horrified face made Gabriella smile. "I so didn't do that! That was Amber's idea!", she defended herself. He threw her an amused look. "But you agreed!" She bit her lip. "So what?", she shrugged nonchalantly, barely able to hide the grin spreading across her face. Troy regarded her sceptically. "So what?", he asked, raising his hands towards her ribs. "You never told me why, you know?" Gabriella eyed his hands with growing suspicion. "You're not going to…" She didn't finish her sentence, for he began tickling her all over.

"Stop it, Troy!", she squealed, trying to escape from his firm grip. "We're on a freaking stage! With I don't know how many people looking!" Troy didn't even bat an eyelash. "Tell me and I let you go." Gabriella buttoned her lips, not having in mind to ever tell him. He really didn't need to know that she had been too cowardly to turn down the contest. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out!" The tickling increased, but not for long, seeing as someone stormed up the stage and split them up. It was Sharpay. "Alright, lovebirds! So not the place for a tickle fight. Especially since Amber is looking over to you and according to her expression she's going to break someone's face any minute. And you can only hope that it's not one of yours!"

Trust Sharpay to be the mood killer. Concurrently their heads turned into the direction she was pointing. She was right. Amber seemed to be seething. If looks could kill, Gabriella would be dead before she could even say 'dancing squad'. But she actually wasn't bothered by that. "Leave her alone, she's just jealous." Troy looked at her and leaned down. "And she's got every reason to be." Their lips met in a passionate kiss, to which Shar could only pull a disgusted face. "I hate couples who don't care about the rules against public display of affection!" Gabriella and Troy just shrugged, caring on as if Sharpay didn't exist. Huffing, the blonde dashed away.

It was only minutes later that the stands were being filled again. Having broken their kiss long ago, Troy and Gabriella had fled the stage as soon as the first people made their way to sit down again. Now there wasn't left anything to do but wait until the figures were added up. In the meantime the baseball game was supposed to go on. Gabriella was just able to find Chris and wish him good luck for the next part of the game as the starting whistle was already blown. Nodding at her, Chris made his way out on the court, the audience screaming and clapping.

"They are going to win, aren't they?", Gabriella asked Troy. He shrugged. "They don't have another choice. It's West High they are playing… if they don't want to have trouble they will do everything to score as much as they can."

*

The baseball game was over and the figures added up. Gabriella and nearly every other girl on the squad were near a nervous break-down. "Oh my god, what if Amber won?" Becky's clear voice sounded in everyone's ears. Gabriella shushed her, her eyes displaying that she was having the same thoughts. Troy looked around. He couldn't believe that one could get so tensed up over something like this. Wrapping an arm around Gabriella's waist and pulling her into him, he smiled down at her. "Do I need to get you relaxed again?" Confused she nodded.

In a split second she found herself against Troy's chest, his lips pressed firmly onto hers. Melting into the kiss, she heard everyone else groaning at their sudden access of emotion. "Why do we always need to see that?" Chad was complaining once again, but Taylor didn't even have the nerve to smack his head, mainly because their principal had just set foot on the stage. The girls squealed quietly, even Gabriella who had detached her lips from Troy's just in time. "God, help!", the brunette whispered, squeezing Troy's hand that strongly it actually hurt. But before he could bring on his protest, the principal had already started speaking.

"Dear ladies and gentleman, dear students, teachers and parents! I am very pleased to be able to welcome you to East High School! As our dancing squad captain already acquainted you with the contest held tonight there's nothing left to do than to announce the voting outcome. I guess that's what you've all been waiting for, isn't it?" He smiled amicably while the audience was nodding in agreement. "Well, then I don't want to keep you in suspense!" He fetched a white envelope from behind his back and started opening it. While he was reading the paper he found it seemed as though nobody was breathing.

Then he finally spoke again. "Alright! This is the final results of the voting…", he breathed in deeply. "Damn, that guy should have become a broadcaster for TV! Why the hell doesn't he already tell us?" Sharpay's oppressed curse followed her remonstrance and caused Gabriella to giggle. But not for long. "Well, by the skin of their teeth… The winner is…" Everyone was watching with interest as he drew breath. With a bright grin the principal turned around on stage, facing both the dancing and the cheerleading squad. "The winner is … Gabriella Montez with her dancing squad!" For a moment everything was dead silent. Then deafening cheers erupted from about five-hundred throats.

Within seconds Gabriella was crowded by her fellow squad members. "We did it!" The open outcry could be heard from the most different places and Gabriella honestly was fearing for her own health. They had done in! They had won! A warm feeling floated through Gabriella's whole body and widely beaming she freed herself of the bodies hanging onto her, only to be engulfed into an affectionate hug. It was Troy. Snuggling deep into his arms, she grinned up at him, happy and carefree. "We won!" Troy nodded, still left in disbelief. They had really done it. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought they could do it, but still… it was a little wonder.

Just as the fact that he was holding Gabriella in his arms. Just two weeks, hell even only eight days, ago he would have never thought this could actually be happening. But now here he was, having her clinging onto him and he didn't mind one little bit. So to say they had won in more ways than one. Finally letting the smile tugging at his lips break out, his eyes were twinkling down at her and showed more than his happiness. Overcome by the sudden awareness that he loved her, she raised herself up to him and kissed him. "I love you.", she whispered into his ear, causing his smile to get even bigger. "I love you, too." Starring into each other's eyes, they needed nothing more.

Ripped out of their little moment as they felt themselves being pulled along, they directed their attention back to the events happening around them. Smiling faces and happy grins were all they could see, agitated chattering and felicitous squeals all they could hear. As long as they could make out, they were pulled upon stage, the audience welcoming them with warm acclamations. Being greeted with a hand-shake from the principal, someone handed Gabriella the microphone. Still absolutely stunned by the sensational result, she couldn't think of anything else than to thank them. "Oh my God, thank you all so much for voting for us. This win makes us so unbelievable happy!" The laughing team members underlined her words expressly.

In their triumph no one of them had wasted a single thought on the loser of the battle. But at least one of them didn't intend on being forgotten for the rest of the night. Turning her head slightly, Gabriella caught sight of Amber approaching them. And she didn't look as if she was coming to congratulate in the victory. It looked more as though trouble was arriving. Amber was coloured up to her ears. She couldn't believe that she had actually got beaten by them. How could that possibly have happened? It was a piece of impudence.

But she wasn't going to do them all a favour and vanish into thin air. No, if Gabriella had won the contest, then she would provide for making her triumph bitter-sweet. Eventually having reached Gabriella so she could be heard over all the noises, she attempted to get the girl's attention, only to find that Gabriella had turned her back on her. Dirty trick! She watched her enemy making eye-contact with the boy she had been longing for ever since she had set eyes on him. Or maybe since she had been informed that he was quite popular. Whatever. How dared that little slut to first take her boy away and then the victory in this contest? But she wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"You're not thinking you've won him back, do you?" Amber's voice interrupted their moment. "As soon as he gets bored with you, he'll search for someone else, you know that." She sounded satisfied; as though she would expect Gabriella to realise she was right and start crying right away. However, Gabriella was far from doing her the favour. "I know that he's been set up, Amber. And there's no use telling me otherwise… I overheard you and Sarah talking a couple of days ago." This statement was setting tongues wagging all around them. So that was the reason their golden couple had broken up in Sophomore Year? Because of some scheming from Amber and her squad? How dared they!

Amber noticed the sudden mood swing of the crowd and the listeners Gabriella had won by that statement. But that wasn't going to break her. "So what? Maybe it was planned! But Troy didn't have to kiss Tiara, did he? Or do other things with her…", she implied, achieving what she had wanted. She could practically feel Gabriella heating up because of anger building up inside of her. Unfortunately for her it wasn't directed at Troy as she had hoped but at her. "You're a snake in the grass, you know that?" Gabriella said, getting it across rather inconveniently for Amber. "You know as well as me that Troy didn't do anything with her. I heavily doubt Tiara was still in his room after he came back from running after me and trying to hold me back!"

Amber grew white. She hadn't known that Troy had made an effort to keep Gabriella from breaking up with him; Tiara hadn't mentioned a single thing about that. Troy noted her seeing her hopes dashed and smirked at her. "Are you really that dumb, Terrell? Did you really think I would let the one I love go without even trying to hold her back? Much more, did you think I would actually stay with Tiara and do any of the things you just implied? You disgust me!" Everyone starred at him in pure shock. No one had ever heard him advancing his opinion that clearly. "And you actually think I would care about that?" Amber said haughtily, not wanting to show that it had actually gotten to her.

Gabriella just shook her head. "You know what? I don't want to do this. I don't want this moment ruined by someone like you, Amber. And I would heavily advise you to do a bunk… otherwise I'll arrange for you to get it done by someone else." Amber swallowed. Seemingly she was overruled here. Backing away, she spat out: "I'll go for now, Montez! That doesn't mean you can allow yourself to be lulled into a sense of security! The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings!", she threatened, but Gabriella just laughed. "Are you trying to say that you're that fat lady?" Amber's face grew red with embarrassment while everyone else broke into a laughing fit. With one final glare, she turned around and stormed off.

Gabriella gazed after her, not feeling the slightest bit of regret. Amber had deserved everything she had got, having brought it upon herself with her constant plotting. Feeling strong arms surround her petite body from behind, she turned around smiling, looking into Troy's eyes, feeling quite content with her life. "I can't believe it's finally over!", she susurrated, letting relief wash over her body. "And I can't believe I'm holding you into my arms!", he gave back, nuzzling his nose into her neck, making her giggle. "Enemies turned lovebirds, aren't we?" Troy nodded, giving her free only to pull her to him again. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a sweet, caring kiss. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, all problems solved, a new time about to begin. And there was no mistaken. They were definitely more lovebirds than enemies.

**Ohhhh… isn't it sad that there's only the epilogue left? But oh well… this story had to come to ****an end after some time :] And I honestly hope you liked this story, because well… it actually was my first one I've written for FFN. So it means much to me, although I've already moved onto other stories. Anyone who's interested: There are two other stories up by me: Firstly, a one-shot called 'Baby, come back'. Actually, it's a songfic to Vanessa Hudgens' song. And secondly, of course, there's 'First Bad Habit'. At the moment, there are four chapter's up and I'm struggling to get the fifth one written. However, readers are very much welcome and those who leave a review even more so :]**

**After I've finished this story and FBH, I'll start working on one of the ideas I have for new ones and I'll post as soon as I've got something ready. That, though, can take a while, because I finish my holidays today, so tomorrow it's back to school. Which is really depressing, considering that I'll get my Latin test back in first period. Who wants something like that when you've not even arrived properly yet?**

**Please, please, please tell me what you think of this chapter and of the story in general. It would be really nice to hear from you all. I don't think I can press you into reviewing this time, because I doubt many of you find the idea of an epilogue that interesting, but I'm counting on you being nice here. :] **

**So, until next time, **

**Without wax (who's read one**** of Dan Brown's thrillers and can tell me what this means?) **

**xoxo**

**Lena**


	15. Epilogue

**Heya all! Here I am with the last chapter of 'Enemies or Lovebirds'… and I really hope all of you will like it. Remember, this was my first story on FFN and therefore it's very important to me. I am, however, very sorry that I won't provide you with the date Gabriella won with Troy in the contest. I got a review telling me that she was very excited to read about their date and I've got to say: I'm sorry. I didn't write about that the first time round and I won't include the scene now, because I don't want to change the story. I guess you could call me sentimental :] Nevertheless, or especially for that reason, I hope that the epilogue is enough for you guys anyways. ****I know it's not that long, but it's not supposed to. It just felt right to end the story this way. Enjoy!**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon High School Musical, copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and High School Musical 2, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved and High School Musical 3, copyright 2008 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.**

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_Recap of the last chapter:_

_Gabriella just shook her head. "You know what? I don't want to do this. I don't want this moment ruined by someone like you, Amber. And I would heavily advise you to do a bunk… otherwise I'll arrange for you to get it done by someone else." Amber swallowed. Seemingly she was overruled here. Backing away, she spat out: "I'll go for now, Montez! That doesn't mean you can allow yourself to be lulled into a sense of security! The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings!", she threatened, but Gabriella just laughed. "Are you trying to say that you're that fat lady?" Amber's face grew red with embarrassment while everyone else broke into a laughing fit. With one final glare, she turned around and stormed off._

_Gabriella gazed after her, not feeling the slightest bit of regret. Amber had deserved everything she had got, having brought it upon herself with her constant plotting. Feeling strong arms surround her petite body from behind, she turned around smiling, looking into Troy's eyes, feeling quite content with her life. "I can't believe it's finally over!", she susurrated, letting relief wash over her body. "And I can't believe I'm holding you into my arms!", he gave back, nuzzling his nose into her neck, making her giggle. "Enemies turned lovebirds, aren't we?" Troy nodded, giving her free only to pull her to him again. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a sweet, caring kiss. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, all problems solved, a new time about to begin. And there was no mistaken. They were definitely more lovebirds than enemies. _

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Chapter fifteen: Epilogue

It was like the calm after a heavy storm. Summer holidays had ended only two week ago, but that didn't mean that summer was over. Right now, the sun did everything in its might to prove all of those wrong who had claimed the sunny time to be over with the beginning of school. And she definitely was successful. Spreading her warmth all over New Mexico, everybody who could walk was outside, savouring the feeling of the sun beams dancing on their faces and every other part of their bodies. Students were either lying outside in the sun, relishing the warmth or they had fled the sun after having been at her mercy for way too long and were now seeking the coolness of the shadows inside the schools.

Music could be heard being played from several I-Pods and the chatter from groups scattered all over the school grounds. At the moment nothing reminded of the dreadful thoughts every teenager had had to a greater or lesser extent on the last days of the holidays. Homework wasn't an issue right now and there was no teacher in sight. At least for now nobody was stressing out over school work, instead indulging in having a lot of free time on their hands spent on hanging around with the old cliques.

East High School wasn't making the blindest bit of difference there. And neither did Troy and Gabriella. Deciding that the weather was too fine to stay inside, they had searched for a secluded place to settle down for a few minutes before heading off to the detention they had been assigned to. Making themselves comfortable, Troy had lay down on his back, Gabriella's head resting comfortably on his stomach. Each absorbed in their own thoughts, no one spoke, just enjoying the company of each other. It actually was the first calm minute they had gotten together, seeing as their friends stubbornly wouldn't leave them alone for good. Always having at least two of them around, both Troy and Gabriella had awaited eagerly a moment to be alone.

And now it finally seemed as though they had gotten it. Letting out a content sigh, Gabriella turned her head slightly to look at Troy's face. Meeting his gaze, she smiled slightly, taking his hand in hers. "God, you don't know how glad I am that we could escape that insane lot at last!" Troy smiled at her. "Yep, it definitely was time!" Gabriella raised her eyebrows playfully. "For what?" Troy grinned down at her, before propping up on his elbows and pulling her up to him. Capturing her face in his hands, he whispered: "For this." He brought his lips down to hers, detaining her lips once again, feeling her soft response to it. Releasing her after a good minute, he leant back, smiling.

"You don't know how long I waited for that.", he admitted, winking sheepishly at her. She giggled. "Me too." Gratified with how the events of the last days had taking their turns, both fell back into the silence they had shared earlier. Gabriella skidded back into her previous position, finding his stomach really cosy. A little bit too cosy maybe, seeing as her eyes kept closing because of her tiredness. It was too bad that they would have to attend detention in ten minutes. Suddenly she felt Troy chuckle from beneath her. She opened her eyes again. "What?"

Troy shrugged, smirking mischievously. "You look so cute when you're sleeping." Her heart melting, she put on a faked remonstrative face. "I was so not sleeping!" Troy chuckled again. "But you looked as if you were." Giving up, Gabriella rested her head on his chest, falling back into the languor she had been in before Troy had started speaking. Troy, however, didn't give her the chance of being charmed to sleep. "You know what?" Gabriella drowsily raised her head from his chest. "What?" He smiled down at her. "I forgot to ask you something." Gabriella was surprised. "And what would that be, Mr. Bolton?"

Seeing her smirk, Troy panicked for a short moment. What if she said no? _Are you dumb?_ A little voice inside his head gave him a shout. _Where were you these two last weeks? There's not a way in hell that she's going to say no! _Troy nodded slightly, trying to compose himself. "Will you be my girlfriend, Gabriella?" The brunette looked up at him, astonishment clearly written all over her face. "You're kidding me, right?" Troy's face fell. Alright, maybe there _was_ a way she was saying no. Gabriella noticed his face, making her laugh. "Do you really have to ask?" She brought herself in an upright position.

Troy gazed at her, not really comprehending what she was saying. Giggling, she threw her arms around his neck, for he, too, had decided to sit up. Giving him a small kiss on the cheek, she gave him a nudge and said: "Of course, I'll be your girlfriend. What kind of question is that after we kissed for about… how many? Ten times in the last days? Really, Troy!" She shook her head, seeing his face breaking out into a relieved facial expression. "For a moment you really had me thinking that you would turn me down." His voice showed how serious he was. He really had been worrying over this.

Gabriella broke into a laugh. "You're impossible, Bolton!", she giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Oh yeah?", Troy replied, shaking his prior thoughts over-board and looking at her with an evil grin on his face. "You sure about that?" As his girlfriend nodded, he raised his hands and brought them near to her rips. "Then you better run!" Gabriella starred at his hands with a worried expression, before jumping up and racing to the school's door as fast as she could. Too bad for her that he was faster than her. Within two minutes he had sprinted up to her and brought her down with him in one swift motion.

Rolling in the grass, both of them couldn't stifle their laughter and soon the whole school grounds where filled with it. Struggling for dominance, they both fought to get the upper hand. Not able to overpower Troy, Gabriella found herself on her back, starring up at Troy's grinning face. "Take that back!", he demanded, holding his hands dangerously near her rips, ready to tickle her until she gave up. Gabriella shook her head no. "No way!", she shouted, but broke into a giggling fit, as soon Aaron's hands made contact with her body.

After a while she couldn't bear it anymore. "Please, stop it, Troy!" The boy, hovering over her, shook his head. "Oh no, I don't think so. Not until you've finally admitted that I'm the cleverest boy you've ever known." She cast him a look that should undoubtedly be asking if he was insane. He met her gaze with a shrug. "Say it or you'll get to know my tickling skills again!" She shook her head, laughing. "Alright, alright! Troy Bolton is the cleverest boys I've ever known." After some rethinking she added: "Or at least, the hottest." Troy pretended to think about it. "Okay, I think I can live with that." He got up and pulled her up along with him. Gazing into his eyes, she leaned in to receive a kiss. Then she noticed that it had grown silent around them.

"They are all staring at us, Troy!", Gabriella whispered, carefully looking around the grounds to search for any familiar faces. Troy just shrugged. "You better get used to it, babe, I don't think they'll stop staring soon. After all we are 'East High's golden couple' again!" Gabriella looked up at him. "Your ego doesn't need to be flattered, I think. It's already big enough as it is, isn't it?" The sandy-haired boy grinned down at her. "You know you love me for it!" Gabriella could only shake her head at that. Of course she did. "But that doesn't solve the problem of them staring at us. What for anyways? We're just standing here!" Troy got a thoughtful look on his face, before leaning down to Gabriella and whispering into her ear: "Then why not give them something to look at?" And with that, he pulled her to him and pressed his mouth on hers, which she immediately responded to.

Melting into the kiss, they both wouldn't have had a problem with standing there for forever, but unfortunately someone else did. Chad made his way through the crowd and interrupted them: "Hey, guys! Get a room or do it elsewhere, but I'd be really thankful if you wouldn't do it in public, you know?" Troy pulled back, a grin still noticeable in his face, and groaned. "Chad! You do have the worst timing ever, you know that?" Gabriella giggled. Trust Troy to get annoyed with his best friend for interrupting them. Tucking at her boyfriend's sweatshirt, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered: "We could finish this little make-out session in detention, you know?"

Troy looked at her, completely taken by surprise. It was the first time ever he heard Gabriella making such a proposal. But he really didn't care about that. "Then why are we still standing here?", he whispered back and tucked at her hand, pulling her into the school building and to the stairs leading upstairs. "Eager, are we?" Gabriella joked, but she was smiling all the way long. Holding hands, they slowly made her way up to Mrs. Darbus' room, ready for the detention that was awaiting them.

So much had happened in the last week, it was unbelievable. Things that had gone wrong for years suddenly were right again and things that had gone right for years began to go wrong, but that was nothing anyone wanted to worry about. All that counted was that, here and now, everything was alright.

**Aww, so it is over… once again. I can't tell you all how glad I am to have it up here again. The weeks definitely go by a lot faster, when you've got something to look forward to at the weekends and you guys' reviews definitely fall under that category****. Undoubtedly, I won't be able to even begin to express most of my appreciation I feel for all of those of you who have stuck by me and this story for so long, who have supported me by reviewing, by criticizing, by complimenting my writing skills or simply those who have always been there for me, ever since I started my own account on here. **

**Anyways, I'll try it nevertheless. Thank you so much to all of you who have read this story, who have accompanied it from the very beginning or who have come on board later on! Thanks so much for those who reviewed, thanks so much for caring enough to give me some sort of feedback. **

**Special thanks goes to Kristyna and Nicole and Zoe for always being there, for helping me up when I was feeling like I was buried alive under the piles of homework my teachers like to assign me, for making me feel welcome on here**** and for giving me their general support every time I need it. You guys definitely rock! **

**About stories to come: I'm trying, guys, seriously trying. And you will hear from me again, should you care enough to look at another one of my stories I already have written or will write in the future. At the moment, I'm thinking about dividing the fifth chapter of FBH into two different chapters, making it six chapters in total. If I decide to do that, then you'll have the fifth chapter up really soon, because it's already written. And even if I decide to update and finish the story in one chapter, it shouldn't take that long at all. I already have a good portion of the second part and I'm trying to get it done sometime in the really, really, really near future. **

**So, once again: Thanks so much to all of you who read, reviewed and supported this story. I would appreciate it if you showed your support one last time by reviewing this chapter. Thanks so much for everything you've given me over the past months. Thank you.**

**Until then and goodbye for now!**

**xoxo**

**Lena aka ElectrifyingChemistry**

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